ANTIGUA NAVAL HISTORY 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 British Royal Navy.
It 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.
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.
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.
For more information on Nelsons Dockyard & the Dockyard Museum please visit our website
|
