St. George’s

The French were the first European settlers on Grenada in 1649. Their colony was known as Fort Annunciation, later changed to Port St.Louis. It was situated at the foot of a hill by the mouth of the Lagoon. Atop the hill today are the ruins of the Islander Hotel, featured in the 1957 film Island in the Sun. The hotel was bombed during the invasion of 1983. In 1705 the town was moved to its present location and renamed Fort Royal. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the British lay claim to the island and on March 2, 1765, it became officially known as St. George’s.

St George’s is divided by a ridge separating The Carenage from the Esplanade or Bay Town. You may recognize the word “Carenage” from visits to other islands. It derives from the days when schooners were laid on their side (careened) so their bottoms could be cleaned of barnacles. Of course, you still find boats cleaned in this fashion on some of the Grenadines, but no longer in St. George’s. Today The Carenage is the center for businesses, restaurants, boutiques and government offices. The Esplanade is home to smaller businesses, the marketplace and the fish market.

The history of St. George’s is punctuated by fire. In 1771, the wooden town of St. George’s was destroyed by fire. Governor Leybourne’s report tells of the fire breaking out in a French baker’s, consuming the town, and causing damage of over £200,000. It was decided that the town should be rebuilt with stone corners and walls of brick to replace the “paper buildings.” This advice was obviously unheeded as four years later the town burned down again. This time damages exceeded £500,000. After this second fire, a law was passed requiring all buildings to be made of stone or brick and to have a tiled roof. Sixteen years later, a ship in the harbor with a cargo of rum caught fire. One third of the town was lost. In 1990, the entire Financial Complex at the end of The Carenage was devoured by flames. This appeared to be the end of the infernos, until July 11th, 2002, when a blaze engulfed a whole block of the old town, including Rudolf’s Restaurant.

Begin your tour at The Carenage where the cruise ship passengers disembark. Keep the Fire Station and Police Station on your right and look across to the other side of the water. On the ridge above you can see the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian churches that you can visit later in your tour. Halfway around the wharf, there are some British-style telephone booths and the statue, “Christ of the Deep.” Across the street are cafés, restaurants, souvenir shops and boutiques. Farther around the wharf is the Nutmeg Restaurant. A block farther on is the National Library, begun in 1846 in what once was a warehouse; its tiled roof arrived on the island as ship’s ballast. Be careful of the traffic, as this is where the one-way system takes vehicles to the Sendall Tunnel and the Esplanade at the other end. Behind the library is Monckton Street and the National Museum.

Outside the museum, turn left onto Young Street, where you find Tikal, the first souvenir shop in Grenada, established in 1959. The road is very steep up to the ridgeline and the intersection with Church Street. Turn left for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. The church was financed by Scottish Freemasons in 1830; its bell arrived three years later from Glasgow. The adjoining Knox House served as the home of the first governors of the island. Uphill past the church is Fort George, also housing Police Headquarters. Don’t let this daunt you; the Fort is open to the public.Adozen or so cannons and a large mortar point out to sea from the battlements. In the courtyard is a basketball pole and hoop scarred with bullet holes, chilling reminders of the execution in 1983 of Maurice Bishop and others.

Now retrace your steps, cross the Young Street junction and walk up Church Street. On the right is St. George’s Anglican Church. Built in 1828, it typically occupies the position of an earlier church and is quite modest in appearance. Inside are a small number of memorials to the good and the great. At the back of the nave, a marble monument honors the 48 captives executed on Morne Vauclain by Julien Fedon during his rebellion in 1795. Another touching tribute is to a young gunner and bugler who died in an accident when firing a cannon in memory of the death of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.

The flags and bunting of York House beckon you on. This is where the Grenadian Parliament sits and trials are held. Lawyers in their traditional robes come and go, while sharp-uniformed police officers watch over the scene. Adjacent is the small two-story Registry, where some of the country’s records are kept. For a small fee and a large amount of patience, applicants can browse through documents, land deeds and records of births, marriages and deaths.

The Catholic Cathedral stands opposite. Mostly renovated in 1884, its tower dates from 1818. It is larger and more ornate than its Anglican cousin down the hill. What is impressive from here is the view over The Carenage. If you take any of the streets downhill to the right, you’ll reach the Market Square.

The square was used as a parade ground from the mid-1700s, later the site for public executions and the buying and selling of slaves. Not only did it have meat and vegetable vendors, but it had a public cage and guillotine at the time of the French Revolution. Notices were posted by slavers announcing their newly arrived cargoes: “William Arnold & Company selling 50 Prime Young Windward Coast Slaves imported in brig Swift, Captain Dent from Bance Island.” These would appear beside playbills for opera and recitals. An announcement was most likely made here for the hanging of Fedon’s rebels. In the southern corner of the square today, a marker commemorates their execution.

The Market Square nowadays is as full of bustle as ever it was. This is the best place to buy fresh produce at the cheapest prices. The full range of fruits, vegetables and spices are sold by traders underneath their colorful parasols. A few covered buildings allow a quieter and cooler way to browse the stalls in less crowded surroundings.

At the heart of the square is the main dollar bus terminal for all routes over the island. This adds to the market’s seemingly perpetual cycle of people coming and going. If the lines and numbers of buses feel confusing, they do have a logical system. Just ask any driver which bus is going in your direction.

If you don’t fancy the climb up and over to The Carenage, you can always brave the Sendall Tunnel. It was dug 340 feet through a rock in 1895 to make carting goods over to the Esplanade easier for the donkeys. Walking from the Esplanade back to The Carenage, the traffic flows against you in this seven-foot-high passage.