Whereas it is deemed expedient to authorise the taking over by the Colony from the War Department of "Castle Island" on certain conditions, and also to assume control over the islands at the entrance of Castle Harbour known as "Brangman's" and the "Old Castle" with the view to their preservation as historic sites with the ancient buildings and remains thereon.

WITH those bold words, expressing a farsighted policy of preservation, the 12th law of the Year of Our Lord 1911, "The Historic Buildings Act" came into being on the ninth of March. Given a few months more, this Act, possibly the first of its type in Bermuda, would have marked the 300th anniversary of the building of the first fort on Castle Island.

It would be another 40 years before a similar Act was promulgated to protect the historic buildings of the town of St. George's and almost 80 years before a National Parks system was established to preserve other historic forts and natural environments on government lands.

Almost a century later, the creators of "The Historic Buildings Act 1911" would be surprised, perhaps, to see that Castle Island — the Nonsuch of Bermuda fortifications — may look the worst for wear, despite their good intentions. The road to oblivion for historic sites is often paved with such well-meant mandates.

Under the 1911 Act, the said Board may effect such repairs to the buildings and fortifications on the said three islands as are necessary to prevent further deterioration of them, and may also have the tanks repaired, and any necessary improvements made to the landing places, and the islands cleared of pear bushes and rubbish.

It is possible that repairs were effected after 1911 and that the islands were cleared of prickly pear bushes and rubbish, but in recent times, casuarina, laurel and pepper trees have trashed parts of the island and inflicted almost mortal injury on parts of the fortifications.

Hopefully, remedial action is on the way, appreciating that in the context of Castle Island preservation of the historic monuments overrides recent introductions of the natural world.

Early photographs show the forts of Castle Island, the first structures to be built of local stone, proud buildings in their Bermudian splendour, with barely a tree encroaching upon them.

Research may reveal who understood the historic value of these forts, and the island itself, and who therefore brought forward the preservation concepts enshrined in the 1911 Act.

He, she or they should ultimately be recognised for their foresight, even if nothing much has happened to preserve the island and much has occurred to assist in its destruction, including recent hurricanes, the winds and waves of which can easily consume unpreserved masonry.

The proponents of the 1911 Act recognised the historic importance of Castle Island and the two adjacent ones, now called Charles and Southampton Islands.

We can now spell out in detail, thanks to recent research, what that heritage value was and still is, for Castle Island is Bermuda's Nonsuch, as far as its earliest fortifications are concerned.

The fort on Charles Island, visible on its highest point for centuries, appears to have fallen into the oblivion of the sea, without detailed record, some decades ago.

Unfortunately, the 1911 Act called for preservation, not recording by measured drawings and photography, the latter being the first essential archaeological step in preserving any monument.>NO records exist, as far as is known, of any archaeological recording of these sites from 1911 until the 1990s, when the Maritime Museum in concert with Dr. Norman Barka and the College of William and Mary began such work.When suggesting Castle Island, with Southampton Fort adjacent, is Bermuda's Nonsuch, the comparison is not with the nearby island of that name, but with a building that elevated the word to an iconic level.

That was Nonsuch Palace, a Tudor royal building erected by Henry VIII near Epsom in Surrey. It is said to be the greatest of his many outstanding works, not least of which are the fortifications he erected on the south coast of England, reviving its coastal defence after a lapse of a thousand years from Roman times.

Without that Palace, it is likely the difficult word "nonesuch" would have disappeared from the English language.

Effectively, his stately home had no equal, it was without parallel, there was none such as could match it in its day and so it was named "Nonsuch Palace".

Nonsuch Island in Bermuda is now without parallel in Bermuda, but was so named long before Dr. David Wingate and now Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros turned it into a haven for early Bermuda vegetation and with adjacent islands, a sanctuary for a gadfly petrel (Pterodrama cahow), commonly known here as the cahoB>CASTLE Island, however, is Bermuda's "nonesuch" of early historic fortifications, a five-acre archaeological site of international importance, now included in our World Heritage Site. Its fortifications, built in local stone, are simply without parallel, there are none such that are their match in this hemisphere, for other works of the period were built of timber and long vanished in wet rot and termite dust.

King's Castle on the seaward point was standing from June 1613. Devonshire Redoubt on the hill to the north was built by 1621 and the Landward Fort likely before 1650. When compared with other works of the early 1600s, not only because they are still standing, the forts of Castle Island and Southampton Fort across the channel would win nearly all the first prizes in a Agricultural Show, if such exist for historic fortifications. I'M "telling you like it is", as Mr. Aloysius (Lockjaw) Fox, the old drone from St. David's, is wont to say, but more expletively so than my Editor allows. Yet to use the word, as it should be, as a noun rather than an incongruous verb, some continue to shower these great heritage works with "disrespect" bordering on the nonesuch, unlike the love that is lavished on the birds, bees and occasional cedar tre

Photos show:1: Landward Fort from the air and plan; 2: Devonshire Redoubt plan and aerial photo; 3: King's Castle plan and photograph; 4: Castle Island from the south

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Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. The views expressed are his opinion, not those of the trustees or staff of the Museum. Comments can be sent to drris@ic.bm or by telephone at 799-5480.