The Bermuda National Trust has helped a team of heritage officials from the Turks & Caicos Islands to develop an itinerary exploring conservation and heritage management.

A group from the Grand Turk Enhancement and Sustainability Agency visited Bermuda during the summer — a trip intended to strengthen their capacity to conserve, restore and interpret Grand Turk’s traditional limestone structures and other cultural heritage sites.

In its most recent newsletter, the BNT said Bermuda and Grand Turk have “strong historical connections”, including a shared past of enslavement and the forced movement of enslaved Bermudians — among them, Bermuda National Hero Mary Prince — to labour in Grand Turk’s salt industry.

Together with similarities in traditional built heritage, the connections provided a rich basis for exchange.

The delegation visited historical lime kilns and Wilkinson Quarry at Coney Island to explore the materials, skills and traditional processes behind Bermuda’s distinctive architecture.

At Verdmont Museum, the BNT’s Andrew Butt showed them conservation work under way at the historical house, while in St George’s, deputy mayor Tianny Butterfield and Jessica Dill, planning heritage officer, joined the team to explore the Globe Museum and St Peter’s Church.

Bermudian mason Dean Saunders accompanied visits to the St George’s Military Cemetery and Fort Albert, sharing his traditional approach to Bermuda stone, while Alison Outerbridge, of the St George’s Foundation, discussed the conservation and restoration of Fort Albert.

The delegation called on Carter House with the St David’s Island Historical Society, then headed west to the National Museum of Bermuda in Dockyard, followed by a talk by Rashida Godwin on Mary Prince at Somerset Cricket Club.

The BNT said “the learning went both ways,” adding that the GTESA’s plans and experiences prompted valuable conversations about Bermuda’s practices and the challenges small islands share in sustaining traditional skills, caring for historical buildings and ensuring heritage places remain valued in their communities.