A rose may smell as sweet by any other name, but it was definitely the name that attracted a British couple to Bermuda for their honeymoon.

Mark Millerchip, 43, had always been curious about Bermuda because he is from Bermuda Village, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England.

"We are getting married in Italy," said Mr. Millerchip, the director of a plumbing company. "Bermuda was an afterthought. It was only when we started talking about it that the idea came up. We started making plans for Italy last year.

"When we started to think about where we go on our honeymoon that is where Bermuda came in. With hindsight I wish we had looked into getting married in Bermuda as well."

Mr. Millerchip was born in Bermuda Village, and his father was also born there. "We have a strong link there," he said. "There are only about 90 houses in the village.

"My family occupy four or five of the houses but it used to be more than that. My father and grandfather worked in the coal mines."

Bermuda Village was built in 1891 to house the workers of a local coal mine and according to Nuneaton historian Peter Lee, Bermuda Village was erected in a period of 12 weeks in 1891.

The village was built to house workers from the Griff New Winnings, or Griff Clara, coal mine that was being sunk at the time.

"Up until 1882 the local landowners — the Newdigates — let the mineral rights to the coal under their estate to entrepreneurial prospectors who worked the mines with the best available machinery then available. A royalty was paid to the Newdigates for every ton of coal raised," said Mr. Lee.

Coal mining had been quite lucrative at various times, but the formation of the Griff Colliery Co. Ltd. in 1882 took things to a new level.

New pits were sunk, including the Griff New Winnings, and therefore new houses were needed for the workers. That is when Bermuda Village was constructed.

"I don't suppose any of the coal miners hereabouts at the time realised the name had romantic connections with your sun, sea and sand holiday idyll set in the warm Atlantic Ocean," added Mr. Lee.

"But at the time I guess their new cosy cottages seemed like paradise compared with the mean tenements they had been used to. There was a small locality nearby called Paradise so these coal miners took their frugal pleasures very seriously indeed."

It was called Bermuda Village, because of the landowner's connection to Bermuda. Lt. Gen. Edward Newdigate, later Sir Edward Newdigate, was the Governor of Bermuda between 1888-1891. (He changed his name to Edward Newdigate Newdegate in the 1880s).

His time in Bermuda was fairly uneventful. According to Henry Wilkinson, author of 'Bermuda from Sail to Steam' Newdigate was in Bermuda during the construction of Government House.

While here, he annoyed the community by constantly asking for more money for furnishings.

"He was from Nuneaton, and owned all the land where Bermuda Village now sits," said Mr. Millerchip, who will be visiting Bermuda with his new wife, Kiran Pardkh, 37, in June. "The owners of the coal mine named the village after him."

He said there are no schools in Bermuda Village, although there was once a small mission building housing a small library. Today, the nature of the surrounding area has changed. "It has become a business trading estate," said Mr. Millerchip.

He said in days gone by, few people would have had the money to visit Bermuda and he does not know of anyone else in the village who has visited the Island. "It was very working class," he said. "Bermuda is not the kind of place they usually use for holidays."