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To look back into the early history of the Western Caribbean is to get a sense that when William Eden built his mansion on the Pedro foreshore, it was during a time of considerable turmoil in the region. The Revolutionary War of 1775-83 had put Britain in conflict with France and then Spain, so that Britain was fighting Spain in the Bay of Honduras and various marauders were at sail across the Caribbean. In that climate, Caymanians resorted to protecting Grand Cayman’s western and southern shores by building Fort George and Fort Prospect. It was in that era, as well, that Pedro St. James came into being.
William Eden, born in Wilshire, England, in 1737, had migrated to Jamaica, married a Caymanian there (Dorothy Bodden) and sired four children. After Dorothy’s death in childbirth in 1773, Eden, who had remarried to Elizabeth Clark, moved to Cayman and became one of the new settlers at Spotts. In 1780, when Grand Cayman was virtually a fishing village, he built this towering “great house” structure that was a phenomenon of that time. The name “Pedro Castle” was not used until well after the time of the fire that razed the main house in 1870, when the former great house lay in ruins.
Construction
The first major structure to be built of stone in Cayman, Pedro St. James had the features and scale of the kind of mid-sized residence common in Caribbean plantations of the time, including, particularly, the external double staircase and the expansive louvered windows and verandahs to let in cooling breezes. It is posited that William Bodden, Jr., a stonemason who worked in Jamaica, and who was the son of Cayman’s leading magistrate, likely supervised the slave labour doing the actual work of building stone work in the castle. While no research has been done as to where the stones used in the castle originated, the cutting of such material from quarries at that time was done by the use of hammer and chisel, and, in the cases of soft limestone, tempered saws. There is also evidence of a method using scribed lines, made by chisels, to covey the impression of cut stone in finished buildings. Archaeological analysis of the mortar used between the stones indicates it was made from a combination of sand and burnt lime material obtained from the coral reef.
Materials
The archaeological investigation directed by Commonwealth Historic Resource Management (CHRM) of Canada uncovered joist pockets and rafter pockets indicating that the original structure featured the two-storey verandah construction, as well as rafter and truss construction for the roof framing. These pockets can be seen in historic photographs, and the existing sections of stone pillar found on the site during restoration provided the information on the dimensions and finishes of the second-floor verandah supports.
Archaeology of the site also uncovered shards of slate roofing (slate often served as ballast on sailing ships coming to the region) and this use is supported by Memory Bank speakers. Slate flooring was also found during examination of the site – it may have been the material described as “dark, hard stone” that was used on portions of the upper floor. Investigations on the upper floors also uncovered pockets believed designed to originally contain wooden blocks for attachment to built-in wooden furniture that could be moved depending on sun and wind conditions. Although none of the original flooring remained, Memory Bank information refers to “dark, shiny flooring”, in the lower part of the castle, which is in keeping with the common hardwood floors in the Caribbean, polished with coconut fibre. Memory Bank speakers also make numerous references to the mahogany from the castle being removed and used in other buildings at other times.
Archaeology also uncovered the “dirt floor”, made from a hard-packed marl material known as "tarris", that was present in the ground-floor area and in the kitchen yard. The ground floor investigation also uncovered what were presumably “gun holes” in the castle wall. These slots were located to allow defenders of the castle to protect against possible invaders with small hand-held cannons or other firearms.
Archaeology
Before and during restoration undertaken by CHRM, 22 excavations took place at Pedro Castle. These were used to ascertain floor levels, the date and method of construction, and the locating of archaeological features on the site. The finds unearthed in this process were cleaned and catalogued, and approximately 5,000 artifacts were curated by the National Museum. (The Tourism Attractions Board plans to eventually develop an historical exhibit in the vacant Resource Centre area in the quadrangle on the site.)
The work also uncovered remains of the boundary stone wall located to the north of the castle, as well as two middens (debris resulting from human disposal of unwanted items) yielding information about the residents of the castle from the late 18th century onwards.
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It is worth noting that as Cayman begins efforts to delve into matters of historical interest, the Pedro Castle site reflects, in one discrete area, a significant part of the country’s history. Quite apart from the singular creation of the epochal structure represented in the castle, the nine-acre property encapsulated the country’s economy (plantation; trading), its social life (parties; gatherings), and its official life (courthouse; jail; meeting place). Indeed, virtually all of Cayman’s sociology was on display there.
Pedro is also a microcosm for the connection between African slaves (from Jamaica) and the development of land and mankind in the country. The often unaccredited part that blacks played in Cayman’s early history is mirrored, as well, in the story of the creation and existence of Eden’s castle. Memory Bank participants Nettie Levy and Carrie Hurlston remember being told of slaves chained to the ground in the yard, and Carrie Hurlston recalls her grandfather, Joseph Eden, telling her that slaves were buried in unmarked graves between the trees on either side of the road just past the main house. (One of these slaves, whom Eden remembered from his childhood, was Dandan, the cook.)
Although originally acquired for its tourist attraction potential, Pedro St. James Castle constitutes an historical gold mine for future generations in this country. Every aspect of Caymanian life and commerce imaginable must have taken place at Pedro at some point, and to look at those close-up is to visualise Cayman in panorama. There is a book there - indeed, several books – a musical, a cultural display, and that’s only the start of the list; there is, in fact, a complex and interesting historical tapestry to be revealed. The existing tourism brochures and audio-visual theatre show are but a beginning; the rest awaits.
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