These mud mortar stone walls are remnants of structures which were fairly substantial when they parts of buildings with a use and purpose.

This view of one property shows a dilapidated conservatory where the slave quarters may have been and the remnants of the warehouse. The large modern construction dominates the immediate area.

This view from Sister’s Walk shows the full extent of properties from Main Street to Sister’s Walk.  On the upper right of the photo is a building with a blue façade and red roof with dormer windows.  It is an excellent example of a Jamestown Georgian house. This is Wellington House; it fronts onto the western side of Main Street.  Slightly closer to Sister’s Walk is the rear view of a row of houses on the eastern side of Main Street.  The houses fronting on to Main Street were the residences of the Island’s more successful traders.   The houses they lived in were advertisements to their success. 

Immediately to the rear of this overt display of wealth were the kitchens.  It was common for kitchens to be in an entirely separate structure from the main residence, probably because the cooks and cleaners were slaves.  Regrettably, the houses in this photo do not show an example of the kitchens.  The white house on the right with a blue roof, is a new construction where an attempt was made to conform to Georgian design using modern building materials.  The house adjacent to it, where only the rear lean-to is visible, has also been comprehensively refurbished.  In both cases the original kitchen building has been removed.

Of course, the large red-roofed building in the foreground was only possible after the removal of all that went before, except for some remnants of warehouse wall adjacent to Sister’s walk.

However in the middle of the picture, between the trees is a relatively undisturbed original structure where the original purpose was accommodation for slaves.  However in some of the adjacent houses the slaves were kept in the cellar.

Immediately adjacent to Sister’s Walk the warehouse was built with access onto Sister’s Walk and then on to the wharf and ships the traders supplied and relied upon for income and prosperity.  The stone walls visible in the foreground have been very much modified since the sailing ships stopped calling and the warehouses lost their function and purpose.  The height of the wall on the extreme left would have continued over the entire wall and joined with the stone wall adjacent to the large modern building on the right.  Within that enclosed space supplies were stored at different levels in readiness for the next delivery to the ships.

The upper end of Sister’s Walk, leading on to Napoleon Street, retains in varying forms and functions, the 18th century warehouses.  Some appear relatively close to their original condition – apart from the erstwhile use of concrete as mortar instead of lime - in mud mortar stone walls.

This photo shows one expanse of stone wall but various methods have been used to maintain it.   The white areas indicate a method of pointing which finishes with a smearing of concrete to give an even surface to the wall. The upper part of the wall to the left appears to be close to its original condition while the upper right of the wall facing the camera has been rebuilt in more recent times using a dry stone technique.  In some places the mud mortar has not held and ominous holes are developing.