Saint Helena's geographic position has always been the most important factor in its development as an outpost of human occupation. From its discovery by Joao da Nova Castella in May 1502 until its decline after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, its remote location put it in one of the most economically important shipping channels in the world. The control and re-supply of this shipping made the inhabitants of the island rich for two hundred years.
 
In Jamestown its role as a supply station and its geography led to a particular form of architectural arrangement not seen anywhere else. The fine Georgian facades are merely the presentable face of a far more industrious streetscape; behind, arranged around small yards were servant's accommodation and the dirtier activities of running the households, further behind these were yards and warehousing to supply the ships. An area now ignored but once the driving force of the island, the structural pattern of this lost way of life is still there though fragile.

Jamestown from Ladder Hill. Photo: Ben Jeffs

The influence of this economic force is seen across most of the island, from the larger country houses of the gentlemen to the boundaries and entrance gates of the plantations that supplied the islands inhabitants and shipping. Slave's houses, cemeteries, small scale industry, patterns of land use and water management all left their mark.
 
The importance of the island as part of the shipping route and its vulnerable isolation kept the threat of attack high. When it isolated and imprisoned Napoleon this threat became all the more urgent and an already heavily fortified island became even more impenetrable. The military presence on the island was an investment to match and exceed the more domestic structures. The emplacements, forts, lines and towers covered much of the coastline.

Part of the military complex at Bankses Battery. Photo Ben Jeffs

St Helena's role in the expansion of British power and global trading links is not only represented in its terrestrial heritage, it also has an important submerged maritime heritage including numerous wrecks.
 
The islands isolation, once its lifeline, gradually became its downfall, after the Suez Canal there were attempts to keep the economy buoyant but none of them really succeeded and fortunes gradually declined.
 
Though this decline has continued to divest the island of its population it has had one positive impact; the slow loss of investment has kept the island somewhat suspended in time. Without money to make grand changes buildings have been cheaply maintained, historic boundaries have remained in place and archaeology has been left undisturbed. Aside from some recent unfortunate large-scale projects the islands historic fabric has gently decayed but has remained remarkably intact.
 
This level of preservation changes the island from an important historic landscape into an internationally significant monument. Despite their survival the significant historic elements of the island are fragile…The most valuable assets are rare. There are other places in the world, other islands, with grander buildings and more important monuments. The rarest and most valuable thing Saint Helena has is the coherence and extent of its historic environment.

Development pressures are increasingly apparent, and this is expected to significantly increase when we have the go ahead for the construction of an airport. The island is at a crossroads in its development, and there are great opportunities for its heritage if appropriately managed. Conversely, the potential adverse outcomes are simple to predict, greater pressure on the main heritage sites; erosion of these and others that are more remote; destruction or inappropriate alterations to the historic fabric of buildings; erosion or wholesale destruction of the holistic historic character of the island. The island is blessed with a rich resource, which requires protection and enhancement. To be custodians of an historic asset is a responsibility to generations that follow, but also an opportunity not to be lost.

First and most obvious is the role heritage has in producing a tourist economy, the historic environment can provide places for people to see. Not just limited sites, the whole island, if it is managed properly can be an historic attraction. It can provide places for people to stay, that are special, rare and unusual, not just accommodation but attractions in their own right.
It can provide infrastructure, roads paths and even water supply (the tanks in HTH are historic)

It can provide employment... Unlike other forms of tourism development, it can drive a wider local economy. Because the historic environment extends into so many areas of life on the island, all of which must be maintained as part of the tourism product it can provide long term stable finance, bringing in money through grant aid and tourism and distributing those funds in restoring, maintaining, interpreting and managing the historic asset.

To achieve this requires that we move forward based on shared island goals and aspirations that are embedded in the island's development plans. This depends on close collaboration with Government authorities, SHDA, local NGOs and French Properties, awareness-raising and benefits-sharing. Most importantly it means growing the interest and support from within the island community. Much has been achieved using this approach in recent years.

The first stage in managing an asset is to understand what the asset is and what makes it significant, where it is and what is threatening the value of it. Funded under the Tourism Development Strategy, the SHNT has undertaken a significant survey of the island's historic asset, called a Historic Environmental Record (HER), to identify the structures, assess their significance and potential, and target funds for their restoration or stabilisation. The levels of investment are considerable, and the first major works will take at least five years to complete. Many of the larger monuments – such as Bank's Battery –will require thousands of days of skilled labour to stabilise and restore them to a level that would allow tourist access. However, the scale of the restoration task, while daunting, also presents a sizeable economic opportunity to both public and private sectors on Saint Helena.

A strong local heritage construction sector is the most cost effective model for maintaining and restoring the key heritage tourism structures, as well as providing sustainable long-term employment and opportunities for private sector growth.

We need construction workers and craftsmen capable of matching the skill, materials and techniques used to make the historic buildings. So we have embarked on a long-term programme of training to establish an historic construction industry. This began in 2007 with training in building recording. In 2009, in a cross sector partnership with the SHDA, AVES and SHG, we managed the first phase of what was then anticipated to be a five year heritage construction training programme. Over 50 people from the private and public sectors received training in the basic skills and concepts involved in the maintenance conservation and restoration of historic buildings. The feedback was extremely positive and confirmed the view that heritage construction training needed to continue. We are currently seeking funds to establish and set up of the St Helena Heritage Foundation (SHHF). The SHHF will be a charity and non-profit making organisation (limited by guarantee) to provide and encourage education and training for individuals in the techniques and skills involved in the preservation, repair and restoration of the built heritage of St Helena.

We have produced Conservation Management Plans (CMP) for Lemon Valley and High Knoll. A funding application for third CMP for Bertrand's Cottage was submitted this month to the Leche Trust by Jamie Roberts. They provide a manual for the development and utilisation based on a detailed assessment of significances and condition of the assets. Bertrand's historic links to Napoleon make it an important asset for the community through developing its tourism potential linked to Longwood House. The French connection could also be a hook for attracting funds to support the renovations.

To be effective, the HER and CMPs need to be enshrined in a legislative planning framework and will need to be supported by design guidelines and policy planning guidance and we're working on achieving this with the government authorities and councillor committees.

Funding is usually the most challenging aspect of any heritage focused work, the benefits are long term ones and economic links, though real and important, are complex. We have to be innovative and dynamic in attracting funds. And this means attracting interest from the international community. There are several ways we are doing this. Firstly two recent announcements could help launch international interest and lever financial support.

In November last year St Helena was added to the shortlist of UK potential World Heritage Sites. More recently, on the 5th of October 2011 the World Monuments Fund added the whole island of Saint Helena to its Watch List. The WMF is a global organisation dedicated to the preservation and conservation of the world's architectural heritage. We are hoping to work with the WMF to produce some publicity material and to host a large London event focussing on Saint Helena's heritage in line with the Trust's tenth birthday and St Helena Day 21st May 2012.

Voluntourism is a potentially important market for St Helena to support heritage and nature conservation programmes. The Trust has been working with the Tourism office and the French Consul to develop accommodation and projects to capitalise on the stream of locals and longer-term overseas visitors who wish to volunteer while on-island. We're also exploring other market opportunities in America linked to our Boer and Slave history.

Re-engaging with our heritage and re-building an international identify has the potential to change the way the island sees its place in the world and build it a future that it can be proud of.

"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, "See! This our father did for us." John Ruskin

Contributed by Ben Jeffs and Rebecca Cairns-Wicks

Related Information

St Helena’s Historic Buildings – the Island’s built heritage