The Somers Playhouse has a history as rich as St. George’s itself.

The building has always belonged to the Somers Pride of India #899 — a fraternal lodge organisation with a long history of helping freed blacks with everything from retirement benefits to insurance to arranging funerals.

Somers Pride even played a role in the formation of Cup Match.

Before the official start of the public holiday in 1902 — to celebrate the emancipation of slaves, cricket games were played between a lodge group in the East End and a lodge group in the West End.

That traditional cricket game became the institution we now know as Cup Match.

Some time after 1902, the Somers Pride group needed a place to call their own. That’s why their home was built on Wellington Street.

Lodge member Shane Kelly said: “They wanted buildings to meet and hold churches that the broader society wouldn’t provide for them. Back in those days it was the days of segregation. There weren’t always opportunities for people of African descent.”