THE Christmas decorations have come out two months early at one old Bermuda house, which is opening its doors to the public this weekend.

The 17th-century home of William and Joyce Zuill, Orange Grove in Smith's, is to host an open house and garden event, organised by the Garden Club of Bermuda, on Saturday and Sunday.

The theme is "Christmas in October" and visitors who pay a $20 admission fee will be offered a guided tour of both the gardens and the house, where the Zuills will be displaying many of the family's historical treasures.

Proceeds from Saturday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) will go towards the Garden Club's scholarship fund for the purposes of supporting local students studying horticulture or environmental subjects. Money raised on Sunday (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) will go to St. Mark's Church.

The youth string quintet Quattro will also be playing at the house from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.

Among the treasures on display will be a dress worn by Mary Ann Dill of Devonshire on her wedding day back in 1819. Then there are ball dresses, including one worn by Mrs. William Cox in 1850s and an ornate black opera cloak that belonged to Charlotte Strong in 1890s.

The dresses will be displayed in one bedroom and quilts, including one dating from 1799 in a another bedroom. In a third upstairs room, the clothes and toys which belonged to a child who died in the mid-19th century will be on show.

The young girl's belongings were kept by her grieving parents and offer an idea of what life was like for a child growing up in a wealthy Bermudian family at that time.

Mrs. Zuill said the preservation of these treasures in Bermuda's heat and humidity was largely down to earlier generations who had stored the old clothes in cedar chests with mothballs.

The Christmas theme is apparent on walking through the doorway. The first thing visitors will see is a Christmas tree and a stroll through the house reveals stuffed elks' heads hanging on the walls, draped in tinsel. The main features of the gardens are the ancient and exotic trees. A magnificent calabash tree, an allspice and a sandbox are all well over 200 years old.

Two neighbouring dwellings will also be open to visitors, Calabash Cottage, courtesy of Colin Cooke and his wife, and Sandbox Cottage, courtesy of Mary Dunning.

Orange Grove, believed to date back to the early 1660s, oozes family history and its make-up and content reflect Bermuda's own history. With its creaking pine wood floors, ornaments, paintings and photographs of characters from ages past, it is part family home, part national museum.

That is much the way Mrs. Zuill thinks of her home and why she feels a responsibility to maintain it and to open it up to the public from time to time.

"William and I think of this house and gardens, not so much as property, but as something to be shared and something we hope to preserve and hand on to our successors," Mrs. Zuill said.

MRS. Zuill has been helped in organising the open day by event chairman and Garden Club vice-president Janet Owner and Garden Club president Sally Gibbons.

Ms Gibbons said: "Our Open Houses and Gardens programme is usually held in May, but we couldn't do that this year because of the damage caused by Hurricane Fabian. So we decided to do something in October instead."

The land on which Orange Grove now stands was sold by Sir Thomas Smith, an investor in the Virginia Company and the Bermuda Company, set up to develop the island, to John Somersall in about 1660.

A survey of the island, carried out by Richard Norwood in around 1622, mentioned a "Mansion House" on the land, and the family believes this was probably Orange Grove.

The house's lengthy history includes two bloody anecdotes.

DURING Mr. Somersall's ownership, an Indian slave grabbed a musket, set the house on fire and stood outside to shoot the family as they escaped. Indian John was captured, tried, hung and quartered.

Later the house was owned by Colonel Corbusier, a member of the Governor's Council. On one occasion the Colonel lent some silver (thought to be cutlery) to his neighbour Mr. Swiney, who promised to return it the next day.

When the silver came back, there was a piece missing. Col. Corbusier sent a message to Mr. Swiney's cottage and the angry neighbour responded by coming to Orange Grove with a pistol. The two men met at the front door and fought, and Col. Corbusier managed to run Mr. Swiney through.

Mr. Swiney died a few days later. Col. Corbusier was found guilty of murder, but in view of the extenuating circumstances, he was allowed to plead "benefit of clergy" and was sentenced to be branded on the hand with the letter "M" for murder.

l Parking for visitors at the weekend will be at Whitney Institute, Middle Road, Smith's. There will be free shuttles to the properties. Orange Grove and its gardens will be open to the public (admission $20) on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when baked goods, crafts and plants will be on sale. On Sunday, the property will be open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and tea will be served by the St. Mark's Guild.

Mrs. Zuill thanked A.S. Cooper & Sons for its help in providing an early Christmas tree.