Professor Sir Henry Fraser made a presentation as a lecture recently and the below is an extract from it ……….
DID YOU KNOW, NO. 167, PALMETTO STREET AND THE TRAFALGAR
HOTEL
Did you know that the old Trafalgar Hotel, on the corner of Palmetto Street and Rickett Street, used to be the rendezvous for lunch by members of parliament in the old days?
And did you know that that whole area from Palmetto Street all the way past Marhill Street and Bridge Street to the Constitution River and the Careenage used to be a swamp? It’s not surprising that when the Parliament buildings were built in 1862 the huge tower on the East wing soon started to sink, and had to be cut down to half the height.
Palmetto Square is one of the seven streets in Bridgetown still bearing the original names established by the Act of 1657 for the naming of streets. The others are Swan Street, after John Swan the surveyor, High Street, James Street, Reed Street, Tudor Street and White’s Alley.,
But let’s go back to Palmetto Street, sometimes called Palmetto Square, but really just a short, triangular shaped street. It’s where the fire of 1860 began. On the night of February the 14 th , almost exactly a hundred and sixty years ago, the alarm of fire was raised. The fire started in the lumber yard of John and George Alleyne in Palmetto Street, spread across the carenage into Lower Bay Street as far as Shurland’s Alley. The devastated area became known as the new burnt district, and government took the opportunity to acquire much of the land for the proposed new Parliament buildings.
Rebuilding on Palmetto Street included the handsome Victorian buildings, where Cave Shepherd and Company started business. On the corner was a handsome building of three stories, the Trafalgar Hotel. This was a rambling old house, with a second block towards the East. It’s recorded that until the 1970s the restaurant at the Trafalgar Hotel was the usual place for lunch of members of Parliament.
On the ground floor for decades in the last century was the famous barber shop of Barry Springer, and upstairs was a restaurant and bar, frequented by Sir Grantley Adams and the MPs of his day. The hotel and restaurant was run for many years by a Mrs. Murray.
Both venues were the haunt of parliamentarians, politicians and aspiring politicians. It was rather like the offices of Clennel Wickham a century ago, where people dropped in or gathered to discuss politics. Things changed when the post office was relocated from the parliament buildings and a dining room was created at the north end of the east wing. This was where my mother ran the postal order department from 1960 until she retired in 1967. She was also had of the registration department at the north end of the west wing, so she spent a lot of time crossing parliament yard and keeping fit!
But the removal of the post office and the creation of the dining room in parliament must have had a dramatic effect on the patronage of the Trafalgar Hotel restaurant and bar, and things clearly went downhill, as the buildings fell into disrepair. In 1978 it was sold and demolished.
I vividly recall my friend the artist Omowale Stewart phoning me with the news of the demolition to occur the following day, and he and I and several others converged on the site that afternoon for the first of a series of sketches and paintings. My three visits produced a triptych, one of my favourite paintings, with the iconic bread cart at the corner! This was shown at the first Art Collection Foundation show in 1985, and hangs in our dining room, while pen sketch number one hangs over my desk.
It was a sad loss of an iconic landmark of old Bridgetown, to be replaced by the ugliest building in the city!
“Trafalgar Hotel” a Gem
demolished in 1978 and only 1 Framed Print still available.
I am aware that you might have your collection of Archival quality prints that are all framed using UV glass to preserve them from fading.
Nevertheless I thought that I would give you the opportunity of owning this 1978 masterpiece.
During my second year of owning a camera I spent my Sundays wandering around Bridgetown and taking pictures.
The image of Trafalgar Hotel was one such image that was photographed in 1978 a few months before it was demolished.
During 2008 I launched a Limited Edition of 40 prints selling 35 of them in a very short period to Corporate Barbados and some influential individuals that saw the value of owning such a masterpiece. All during 2008.
I then decided not to sell the last 5 prints saving them for a time some years later and that time came mid 2021.
I am now making available the last copy that remain at this time.
I am hoping that you would take a look at the framed print with the enthusiasm about owning this very limited edition coming with a numbered and signed Certificate of Authenticity.
UV Glass is used and all Archival Framing. Coming with a Certificate of Authenticity.
The price is $2000.00 .
The final framed print is now available for viewing.
Only 1 more print is now available for sale…
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Archival Canvas Print
” VIEW OF BRIDGETOWN ” issued to Commemorate the Anniversary of Barbados Independence
