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the stories of our proud and friendly people, our charming and colourful villages, our fascinating ruins, our intriguing rain forests,
and our traditions that span centuries.

Our People

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William Sendall ('Semblin')

 

William Sendall known as Semblin was born in Africa around the time when the slave trade was abolished. He was apparently captured as a slave around the age of 19. The exact details of his story are unclear but Sendall claimed that he had been born in Guinea, in Africa and that he had been taken along with about three hundred others off a privateer by a British war ship. He and his companions were...

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Lady Allen

 

Lady Allen Annie Maude Matilda Locker was born in Montserrat on the 20th March 1893. She was the eldest of three daughters of Police Sergeant Michael Locker and his wife Ellen. Annie’s early education was in Montserrat and Antigua. She came to St. Kitts at the age of twelve years when her father who served in the Leeward Islands Police Force was transferred to the Dieppe Bay police station. Annie attended the Bethel Moravian School and...

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Notes from an Interview

 

Eyewitness: Cyril Halbert Date: 28th January 2005 Place: National Archives Cyril Halbert was about twelve years old in January 1935. He was a student at the Grammar school which at the time was run by Mr. Williams, an English man. The teachers were Branch, Wooding and Matheson. There were about forty boys at the school. On the 29th January 1935, all the boys were sent home. They were urged to go home as soon as possible and to...

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Our Places

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St Thomas Anglican Church

 

St. Thomas Anglican Church, Middle Island St Thomas Anglican Church occupies the site of the first Anglican Church in the West Indies. The first building would have been made of wood and designed to hold a few English Settlers. Changes were made to it over the years to allow for larger congregations and to rebuild after hurricanes and earthquakes. In 1622 St. Kitts saw the arrival of an English group of settlers lead by Thomas Warner. They...

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Independence Square

 

INDEPENDENCE SQUARE formerly Pall Mall Square, was renamed on the 19th September 1983 to commemorate the birth of the new nation of St. Christopher and Nevis. It is located on the eastern side of Basseterre bordering on Newtown. Its layout was designed to look like a Union Jack and the streets and houses surrounding it once dated to the mid-eighteenth century. Unfortunately, time and environmental damage have destroyed many of them. Some like the Court...

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St. George’s Anglican Church

 

ST. GEORGE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH is the largest church in Basseterre. It stands at the head of Church Street and resembles an English parish church in style. The outer walls are of heavy andesite rock and the roof is covered in slate. Like many of the buildings in Basseterre this church has had its ups and downs, often rising from ashes like the mythical Phoenix. In 1635, at the request of the directors of the Company of...

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Our Events

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Independence 19 September 1983

 

National Flag of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis Statehood, granted in 1967 was viewed by all former territories as a transitions stage. The hope of an one independent West Indian nation had been crushed in 1962. It became necessary for the individual states to work out their own future. In the elections of 1975 the Labour Party obtained a mandate to seek independence from Britain. Discussions started in earnest in 1976 but an effective resolution of...

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The Arts Festival - 18 Aug 1964

 

Arts Festival - String Band, St. Kitts   On the 18th August 1964, the Education Centre, now the Basseterre High School, was the venue of “an evening of One Act Plays”. The plays were The Doctor in spite of Himself, by Moliere produced by Eustace John and Sunday Costs twenty-five dollars produced by Aimee Dinzey. This was the beginning of the first Arts Festival in St. Kitts that was to last for 15 days. The idea of an...

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Cholera Epidemic 1854

 

  The Phantom of Cholera   Cholera is an infectious disease of the small intestine that causes severe watery diarrhea over a few days.  It , can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. In 1850, cholera made its presence felt in Barbados and St. Vincent and by 1853 it was in Nevis.  St. Kitts attempted to control the flow of people from places where...

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"In this  bright future, you can't forget your past"

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