The architecture of Bermudian houses was (and continues to be)
influenced by 3 major factors:
1. Bermuda’s climate (high humidity, the
occasional hurricane)
2. Lack of fresh water (none other than
rain)
3. Availability of building materials
(cedar, limestone)
In the early
part of the 17th century the first settlers constructed their dwellings
with cedar poles intertwined with twigs, reeds, or branches and sealed them with
mud. Most of them had thatched palmetto roofs. Only a few stone
buildings were constructed, (notably the
Carter House).
However, it took a few hurricanes and an
increase in demand for cedar from the emerging shipbuilding
industry before the idea of stone houses really caught on. Most buildings, inside and out, in Bermuda were
once made of native coral
limestone sawn from a quarry in the ground. No other building
material was available for over 350 years. The walls and foundations
constructed of limestone blocks and cemented together provided a solid
structure. Eaves are typically small, with the windows set right up against
them, to provide a low profile with greater protection from the wind.
Carter House
Another common feature in Bermuda’s houses is the tray
ceiling. Named because they have the appearance of an inverted tray, these
distinctive ceilings provide extra height and increased air circulation to
counteract Bermuda’s hot climate.
While retaining its fundamental features, Bermudian architecture evolved as time progressed. In the late 18th century many houses were constructed in the Georgian style; with symmetrical facades and quoins.
The influence of the British military during the 19th century can be seen in the verandas of many of the Front Street bars and restaurants such as the Harbourfront, the Pickled Onion, Flanagan’s and Rosa’s Cantina.
Georgian style quoins: stones forming a decorative corner.
The Buttery.
Before there was
refrigeration or ice was
imported or
manufactured, most
local homes had a
separate structure,
called a
"buttery,"
always
detached from the
house. This was an
old British
word that
meant a place for
making or storing
butter and milk, or
wine. In other
words, it was a
pantry or larder.
They were
well-ventilated,
with no wood used
except for doors and
windows. They were
reached by a long
flight of stone and
red-brick steps.
Today, those
properties still
with a buttery (no
longer featured in
a modern home) are
often used as a
studio apartment, beach house, bathroom or tool
shed. Some butteries
are very small,
others are much larger.
The ball on top of these roofs is called a Buttery Ball.
Moon Gate
Original Oriental moon gate. Bermuda's moon gate.
Another architectural feature, visible at the garden entrance to many homes, is the moon gate. The circular opening in a garden wall that acts as a pedestrian passageway originally embraced a Chinese or Japanese legend. It has since been adopted by Bermuda as a national symbol. There are many now in Bermuda. The Bermuda version is built of Bermuda stone and often, but not always, used as an entrance to a garden. Legend has it that people who walk through a moon gate, especially young lovers and honeymooners, are blessed with good luck. So, as the song goes, "Step Though a Moongate".. and make your wish!
Bermuda's Infrastructure Water, Water, Everywhere--but none to drink.
There is almost no
supply of fresh water aside from what falls from the sky — 50 inches a year. 
So when Bermuda settlers 400 years ago found they needed to store rainwater
to survive, they built barrels and dug holes in the ground. Their system has
evolved to include more modern ways to boost supply. Today, every
Bermudian house has its own cistern somewhere beneath it. (often
found under bedrooms, living rooms or patios but are prohibited by law to be
built under bathrooms or kitchens--see photo at right).)
Conjointly, the tiered, whitewashed-limestone roofs that are one of the island’s trademarks are built to feed the cisterns — By law, every house must collect 80 percent of the water that falls on its roof.
To build a traditional Bermudian roof, masons mortar rectangular slabs, or "slates," of local limestone to each other over a hip-roof frame. Then they apply more mortar over the top and edges of the slates, filling the joints and giving the roof its traditional stepped shape. Along the lower edges of the roof, they sculpt a long concrete trough for a gutter, which directs rainwater to a pipe that filters it and funnels it into a cistern buried alongside (or in the basement) of the house. Then they give the whole roof structure a thin wash of cement. Finally, to keep rainwater as clean as possible on its way to the cistern, they paint the roofs with special nontoxic paint (a modern replacement for traditional lime wash), which must be reapplied every two to three years.
.
Bermuda's signature white rooftops, perfectly placed amid the palms and set off by the pastel houses for which the island is famous.
The tiers keep the rain from blowing off the roof, and the special paint, or traditional lime wash, help clean the water. Chlorine is added periodically to keep the water sanitary. A pump moves the water, when needed, back up from the cistern into a pressurized tank and from there into showers, faucets and toilets in the home. So... that is how Bermuda's low tech roof /cistern water collection system works. Not only do these roofs reflect the hot rays of the sun, but they work overtime collecting water. Ingenious! As long as roofs and cisterns are cleaned and maintained, the system seems to work pretty well — in any event, Bermudians aren’t keeling over in droves from water-borne illness.
The way forward... The roof/cistern system is the best and cheapest way to supply fresh water — up to 30 gallons per person are needed per day — to the 60,000-plus residents of this tiny island nation. But rooftop water collection can't meet the needs of the island once tourist season kicks in. At the height of the summer, the island gets as many as 200,000 visitors. So hotels, hospitals, and other commercial operations must find other sources. In the late 1970s, the government started pumping water from "lenses," underground aquifers where rainwater, which has made its way through the ground over the course of two years, rests atop heavier seawater. These lenses are still in use; a plant at a former military fort filters the water with reverse-osmosis technology, then chlorinates it for its journey along 30 miles of pipes to Bermuda's towns. Also when residents’ cisterns run low, they can order water delivered via tanker truck to their cistern that comes from Bermuda Government reservoirs. With the advancement of time and the increasing demand for water for household appliances it is now prudent for the town to lay even more water pipes that will eventually be connected up with a Government fresh water supply. The process uses more energy, so it's considerably more expensive. But that's the price of keeping paradise up and running.Cesspits. There is no central sewage piping system in Bermuda for any of the homes. All domestic properties must have their own deep dug-in and properly approved cesspits, as far away as possible from water tanks and not where there are water lenses. They must be built as an integral part of the dwelling house or condominium. Cesspits have to be cleaned out commercially every so often.
So now
you know why is is so expensive to live in Bermuda.
The infrastructure is very costly.. and water is precious.
The next time you stay at a B&B and the water trickles out
of the faucet... please don't complain--pray for rain!
HAVE A WONDERFUL
VACATION IN BERMUDA I hope that this web-tour of Bermuda
was able to provide you with a sneak peak of what you can expect
to see when you visit. Hopefully, it will help you decide on
an itinerary for your particular days ashore. You may have to go
back more than once to experience all that Beautiful Bermuda has
to offer. It is so diverse, so historic and interesting. Please feel free
to send me feedback
(click here) to this
site --or the rest of my sites, i.e.; things I should change;
things I should add.
And if
you have any photographs of Bermuda and would like to add them
to our Photo Gallery (at the bottom of each page) please send
them to me at the same link.
I certainly would appreciate your input and
suggestions.
Thanks! Sunny
