St Helena: Walking with Saints
- Tom
- Apr 18
- 4 min read
Arriving in Jamestown, St Helena, I instantly felt at home. In many ways it reminded me of arriving in Angera do Heroismo, Terceira in the Azores.
The unspoilt Georgian facades give a European feel, but from a by-gone era. There are no ATM's and only one commercial business (apart from the bank) accepted plastic. When we arrived the bank had decided to shut and hold a training day. So there was no way to get cash to pay for anything.
Not a problem in St Helena. Business after business served us, telling us to come back the next day and pay. Where else would you find that? Anyone born on the island is allowed to call themselves a Saint and maybe it is justified! St Helena really is the first time that I have 'walked with Saints'.
The food is very 'British' with steak and kidney pies, bacon and egg rolls and full Monty breakfast available from multiple outlets. The governor drives a car with the best number plate that I have ever seen.
The Governor resides in Plantation House. The House is inland and can be visited on Tuesday and Thursday. It is a lovely old building filled with antique Georgian furniture, historical artefacts and an impressive collection of silver. The tour was led by Debbie, the housekeeper, who seemed to have a story for every item in every room.
My favourite room was the library which, thanks to a huge skylight in the middle of the room, was light and airy despite the impressive 'brown wood' furniture.
Another reason to visit Plantation house is to meet Jonathan, the Tortoise, who has been roaming these gardens for 193 years. He was brought to Saint Helena from the Seychelles and is now, officially, the oldest living animal on the planet
However, not everything about St Helena life can be regarded as 'British'. It has a temperate climate and there were lovely sunsets nearly every night.
St Helena is also famous for being the home for the exiled Napoleon during the final years of his life. He was brought here in 1815 and died in1821. His first residence was Briars Pavilion as Longwood House was not ready to receive it's famous guest. Although much smaller (they put up a marquee outside to extend his living space), Napoleon is said to have preferred the climate, gardens and company of the family hosting him.
The island also has Napoleon's penultimate resting place, Napoleons tomb. He was buried here after his death and remained here until 1840. When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, she was determined to repair relations with the French. Part of the 'bargain' was an agreement to have Napoleon dug up and taken to Paris, where he now lies, with full military honours, in Les Invalides. The tomb is now empty but still visited as he was laid to rest at one of his favourite spots on the island.
Longwood house was purchased by the French and has been turned into a Museum about Napoleon. You even get to see one of his actual hats and their is a panel explaining how they were made.
Napoleon never liked the place because it is located on top of a windswept plateau in the east of the island, compared to the temperate, sheltered climate of Briars Pavilion.
St Helena is also (in)famous for one of the near disasters suffered by Joshua Slocum after his visit during his first solo circumnavigation of the globe in the 19th Century. He gave a lecture in one of the outbuildings in the Castle grounds which is commemorated with a plaque.
Before he left, the governess, worried about the solitude of his adventure, presented him with a goat. Ever the gentleman, Slocum could not refuse and tethered the goat to the mast. Unfortunately hemp ropes are no match for a goat's teeth and, once free, decided to eat anything it could find, including all of Slocum's charts. Amazingly, Slocum sailed from St Helena to Newfoundland based on memory and experience.
Jamestown nestles in a valley with fortifications on the hills on both sides. Although discovered by the Portuguese (on May 21st, which is the birthday of Santa Helena), and later taken over by the Dutch, it was the British who established control and, through the East India company, used it as an important base for ships travelling around the Cape of Good Hope.
The garrison and fortifications on the western side of the valley are linked to Jamestown by 'Jacobs Ladder'. The ladder consists of 699 treads, each twelve inches high (much more than a normal stairs). A reasonably fit person can do it in twenty minutes (e.g. the skipper), although the record is four minutes, 40 secs! Whilst we were there, two cruisers were doing it every day, trying to get below ten minutes
The island's prosperity, in the late 18th and early 19th century, owed much to the East India Company. Their crest can be found in many places, including on this silverware in the dining room at Plantation House.
Although the company generated large profits for Great Britain, it's methods (like all colonial powers of the day) left much to be desired. Exploiting the slave trade, forcing opium onto the Chinese and plundering other ships were all part off their playbook.
Of course, they wanted to protect their assets and St Helena was a key staging post for their ships heading east. High Knoll fort is one of the largest and (today) most complete of the East India Company fortifications anywhere in the world. It is walking distance from Plantation House and I visited both on the same day.
Apart from the history and cultural delights (if you like a 'Full Monty' Breakfast), the island is perfect for those who like to explore outdoors. With excellent hiking, scuba diving, free diving lessons, multiple wrecks to explore and visits from whale sharks and hump back whales. But more of that in the next post.
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