| THE
DOCKYARD MUSEUM |
| The
Dockyard Museum interprets the story of
Antigua's famous English Harbour. The
harbour was known to be first used in
1671 as a hurricane shelter and for the
act of careening warships of the Royal
British Navy. |
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was not until 1725 the first buildings were
erected for maintaining British ships on the West
Indies Station. The museum tells the story of how
the Dockyard was built, its purpose, the social
conditions encountered by the people who worked
and toiled in this ancient naval establishment. |
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A fine figurehead
welcomes visitors to the museum. Also on display
are ship models, tools, instruments and excavated
artifacts from the naval hospital and other
dockyard buildings of the sailing ship days.
There is an interesting case of Nelson
memorabilia which contains the famous admiral's
telescope and other items. The story is told to
the present day, of the yards restoration from
the 1930's and of the return of the sailing ships
in the 1950's in the form of cruising and charter
yachts. |
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| There is a
library of reference books embracing many
subjects. The library includes a lending section
as well as a paperback swop section. A large
database of naval history is available for
researchers, as well as all the historical
databases available at the Museum of Antigua
& Barbuda in St. John's. A gift shop sells
items connected to the sea and to the harbour,
including maps, charts and posters. A visit to
this famous dockyard is not complete without a
visit to it's museum and giftshop. Our
mailing address is:
Dockyard Museum, Box 2103, St. John's,
Antigua, West Indies.
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For more info on Nelsons Dockyard
& the Dockyard Museum visit:
www.antiguamuseums.org
Also
Visit
The Museum of Antigua &
Barbuda
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