About the "Castle" on Barbuda
THE BARBUDA CASTLE
Preliminary note:
In the last HAS Newsletter we reported that Dr. David Watters, a HAS Member, had published a paper entitled "Historical Documentation and Archaeological Investigation of Codrington Castle, Barbuda, West Indies" in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, Vol. 66, No.3, pp.229-288, 22 Aug 1997. Copies are available at the Museum Library and at the Barbuda Council Office for inspection. Persons interested in purchasing a copy can contact the Scientific Publications Office, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 152113, USA. . The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda supplied Dr. Watters with a printout of information on the Castle from its Barbuda database and some items not needed by him are now inserted in the following account. Much of this database was built on a former paper, "Codrington Castle, Barbuda", by D.R. Watters & E, Reitz, 1991. Dr. Watters would like acknowledge the valuable publications on Barbuda's history written by Riva Berleant-Schiller and Margaret Tweedy (see Resources ), which were of great assistance to his paper. We would now like to expand on some of the new information...
The early existence of the Castle at Codrington, Barbuda is probably not realised by most Antiguans and perhaps some Barbudans. The Castle was situated near the Codrington pier which is still known as the Castle Landing. Watters' recent research, from both historical records and from archaeological excavation, shows that since 1680, when John Codrington built the first Castle to guard against the depredations of pirates, there have been a succession of buildings constructed and renovated over a span of some 220 years.
The Castle itself has been rebuilt twice after suffering raids from French privateers, earthquakes and hurricanes. The French blew up the Castle and carried off the island's inhabitants (1710). Interestingly, the various structures had different long-axis orientations. Though these orientations differed, the main entranceway into the castle appears to have been located in the southern part of a wall that surrounded the different structures. A slave uprising occurred in 1745 when Mr. McNish, a one time Codrington Manager, was killed because he had been mutilating his slaves for stealing sheep and cattle. Slaves soon occupied the Castle and took possession of arms and ammunition stored there. Soldiers from Antigua arrived to put down the rebellion and two of the slaves (Afro heroes) were burnt alive at the main gate of the Castle.
The original use of the Castle was as a defensive position, but the Castle was also the administrative centre for the island and as a residence for Codrington's Barbuda Managers. It was often used to accommodate temporary visitors to Barbuda, for example in 1783, a botanist, Henri de Ponthieu, stayed in a lower room of the Castle. He complained it was damp and useless against any enemy. Other components of the Castle were a hospital, a well, stables, artificer's stores and three cells ('bunkers') said to have housed slaves for punitive purposes. Another use of the Castle was for the storage of goods salvaged from the various wrecks that often occurred on the low lying reefs off Barbuda. The sale of wreck flotsam and jetsam in Antigua was a considerable income for the Codringtons throughout the centuries.
Crops and other items of Barbuda produce for export to the Codrington estates in Antigua were stored in the Castle, but in 1837, it was reported the building was in ruin and was unfit to receive or store a crop for transshipment.. Little wonder, then, that the severe earthquake of February 8, 1843 razed the walls of the Castle to the ground. However it was rebuilt to a certain extent and must have appeared as seen in the accompanying illustration. This was drawn by Stanley John and published in the Barbuda Voice in July 1971 by Russell John. It is based on an interview with the Reverend Reynold Walbrook, born in Barbuda in 1894. He described the Castle as he remembered having seen it as a boy.
It is believed the Castle was finally taken down by a lessee of Barbuda, Robert Dougal, at the turn of the 20th century. The only visible remains today are the well, a cistern that was once a pigeon house and a commemorative stone tablet of four naval vessels involved in a 1743 fortification project, now set in the wall of the Warden's House. Codrington Castle still exists archaeologically through its subsurface structural features and artifacts.
Some of the artifacts found were smoking pipe bowls, stems, a gunflint, West Indian ceramics (Afro-Caribbean ware), imported ceramics (earthenware, stoneware, & porcelain) and faunal remains (pig, cow, goat, sheep & chicken) as well bivalve and gastropod molluscs and a crab. Dr. Watters' paper presents the results of research on the Castle's location, construction, configuration, architecture and chronology using evidence derived from historical documents and the data from archaeological field work.
The study discusses the anthropological implications of:
1. The Castle's ceramic artifacts, particularly their place of manufacture and the ethnicity of the potters.
2. Its lithic artifacts, particularly New World and Old World sources and the possible historic period re-use of prehistoric artifacts.
The paper concludes that: " the Castle's functions changed through time in response to shifting historical trends in the West Indies. " buried structural features define the Castle's layout. " Codrington Castle's relationship with other sites on Barbuda is documented by historic records and recovered artifacts. " The Castle and Barbuda were closely tied to the economy of Codrington sugar estates elsewhere in the West Indies.
By reading this meticulous research by Dr. Watters on the Barbuda Castle, a greater understanding of the structure's importance and relevance is attained. Through interpreting this building, and Barbuda's historic sites generally, one learns how they fit into the broader regional context.
{Reprinted with the permission of Historical and Archaeological Society of A+B. Articles re-edited for appearance and readeability} cmc 98
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This page was last updated on 12 November, 1998