Bermuda was rediscovered by accident in 1609 when the SEA VENTURE wrecked on a reef outside of what is now the town of St. George. She had been bound for Jamestown, Virginia.
Those who had been shipwrecked on the SEA VENTURE all survived, and in the practice of the time immediately made a wooden cross and claimed the land that they were on for their King, James I of England.
After two years working in Bermuda, the crew and passengers of the Sea venture had built two new ships, The DELIVERANCE and THE PATIENCE. They boarded the ships in 1610, and completed their journey to Jamestown, Virginia.
Once the voyagers got to Jamestown, they went about the legal business of insuring that the island of Bermuda, which they had claimed for King James, would be under the control of the Virginia company. It was very common at the time for various companies to be assigned control of lands in order to create settlements encourage trade and expanding empire.
One of the first things that the Virginia company did once its titles to Bermuda was assured by the crown was to build a fort to protect the natural entrance to St George's Harbour. That first fort was built of wood, at the location where Gates Fort stands today.
From the Bermuda attractions website: (
visit link)
"Gates Fort Bermuda
Located at the end of the Cut Road in St. George Bermuda, Gates Fort was built around 1612. It sits right on the edge of Town Cut, a channel that was created for ships to enter the St. George Harbor. Gates fort with its great vantage point overlooking the Town Cut, was built to stop any suspect or enemy boats to enter the St. George Harbor from the open sea.
It was named after Thomas Gates, the Governor elect of Jamestown Virginia. In 1609, Thomas Gates was also in the same ship Sea Venture along with Somers and his men, that got wrecked near St. George. He stayed on to govern Bermuda between 1609 to 1610, and later became the Governor of Jamestown, Virginia.
Gates Fort was also known as the Town Cut Fort and Danvers Fort, and subsequently was called the Town Cut Battery. In 1790s, Captain Andrew Durnford rebuilt this fort and mounted four cannons there. There is a guardhouse right at the entrance of the fort. In 1800s, the soldiers used the Keep, that is the main fort building as their barracks and the guardhouse as the kitchen. From 1870 to 1922, this small fort was used by a local family as their residence. Later it was returned to the Government."
A sign at the entrance to Gates Fort reads as follows:
"GATES FORT
Gate’s Fort was first called Danvers or Danvers Fort. “Danvers Fort” is first shown on a map of Bermuda published in 1626 and it is most likely that the Fort was built shortly before this time. In later years the Fort was often called “Towne Cut Battery.”
Capt. Andrew Dernford improved the Fort of the early 1790s by constructing emplacements for 46 pounders in building a small two-story guardhouse behind the gun emplacements. In 1793 Dernford added a musketry line and a communication trench to defend Town Cut Channel.
In the 1800s the fortifications at Upper Paget Fort (Fort Cunningham) replaced Gates Fort in defending this northern entrances to St. George's Harbour, but the buildings continued to be used by the military as barracks. In 1870 the keep was occupied by a local family until 1922, when the Fort was returned to the Bermuda government and restored by prison labour.
BERMUDA NATIONAL PARKS
(FORTS)"
Gates Fort is open daily from dawn to dusk, winter hours may vary.