ucked away behind a banana patch, the aptly named Banana Manor is one of St. George?s hidden gems. Built in about 1740, it sits on Blockade Alley just north of Shinbone Alley. To give one a better perspective as to the location, it sits rather regally across from Somers Garden.That entire section is very lush, beautiful and carries the fragrance of surrounding garden flora. The small forest of banana trees makes a hypnotic flapping sound in a good breeze.

An extensive account of the house is contained in the Bermuda National Trust?s Bermuda?s Architectural Heritage, St. George?s. This is an excellent source for every history student.

Dr. George Forbes built ?Banana Manor? on land formerly owned by one of his professional predecessors, surgeon George Ramsey.

The lot was granted by the Crown to Susannah Tucker, whose father, Daniel Tucker surveyed the land.

?Susannah married Dr. Ramsey a few months later so the grant amounted to a free dowry, compliments of His Majesty the King. The Ramseys apparently moved elsewhere and the lot was obtained by Dr. Forbes around 1741.?

It is said that Dr. Forbes was a follower of the 18th Century Enlightenment. As a physician he pioneered smallpox inoculation in Bermuda. He was the personal doctor of Governor William Popple and sent two of his sons to medical school in Edinburgh.

During the American Civil War the widow Lough rented Banana Manor to Major Norman Walker whose wife, Georgiana ran the blockade in March 1863 to join him in Bermuda and set up house in the ?cottage?, as she called it. The Forbes garden was still flourishing ?embowered with trees and flowers which bloom throughout the year. We can count a dozen different kinds of fruits?.

Banana Manor hosted a variety of Confederate dignitaries passing through Bermuda but never more so than at Christmas 1863, when the Walkers gave a party attended by more than 100 Southerners.

?The Confederate Flag,? Walker wrote, ?gaily decorated my little cottage. We had Confederate songs, dancing and games?We parted almost at ?rosy dawn? and all declared that they had been happier than they believed they could be out of Dixie.?

In the 1870s Banana Manor went quickly downhill with its garden and Southern hospitality forgotten. Thomas W. Foster owned the house for six years before selling it to Daniel Lane, a livery stable keeper who originally came from Ireland. It changed hands to several liverymen until about 1933 when it was purchased by Frederick C. Outerbridge, owner of the town?s grocery store and about one tenth of the buildings in the Town of St. George.

Since 1994 it has been restored to some of its earlier glory. The banana grove in front of the home has been trimmed back to reveal George Forbes? house.

The roofs of Banana Manor demonstrate the series of mainly 18th century additions to the house in the background. The extensive sweep of smooth roofs in the foreground cover the later 19th century stables and outbuildings at the back of the house. They are connected to the main house, despite the fact that the drive passes between them.

There is an old pillared gate on the west side of the house that suggests this was once an alley, The Governor?s walk, extended from the gate of Governor?s Garden to the front of Government House on the site of the Unfinished Church.

This private historic home offers the first example of the Georgian style in St. George?s with a central passage leading from the front door to hall, parlour and bedroom.