Convict's Bay, Bermuda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Convict Bay |
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|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°22′49″N 64°40′25″W / 32.3803°N 64.6737°W |
| Type | Royal Engineers Yard. Company offices |
| Site information | |
| Owner | War Office |
| Operator |  British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1864 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1864–1957 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Royal Engineers |
Convict's Bay is a bay located in St. George's Harbour on St. George's, Bermuda in Bermuda and next to Ordnance Island, Bermuda.
The bay was home to HMCS Somers Isles, a Royal Canadian Navy training base and before that a Royal Navy base.
History
Convict's Bay was named after the use of the area as a prison. The British administration used obsolete warships as floating prisons, prison hulks in New York City during the American Revolution and applied them to use on the island. In 1799, a hulk was towed to Somerset Island, Bermuda and one more by 1824. Convicts Bay was transferred to the Army in the 1860s (along with other Admiralty properties at the East End and in the Central parishes), and the army merged the facility with the adjacent St. George's Garrison, which overlooked it, and used the bay for various purposes (initially as a Royal Engineers yard) until the Second World War. The military detachments housed there were withdrawn to make way for the Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Somers Isles for the duration of the war. It was part of the War Office and Admiralty lands slated for disposal in the 1950s.
Today
After the departure of the military from Convict's Bay and the rest of St. George's Garrison, the area is now a residential neighbourhood. Streets in the area reflect the neighbourhood's past:
- Convict's Bay Lane
- Barrack Hill
- Barrack Street
- Old Military Road
- Grenadier Lane
- Red Coat Lane
