GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS is located on Church Street and occupies the land on which the Newstead and the Waterloo buildings as well as some smaller private residences once stood.

In the late 19th century the lower western corner of Church and Central Street was dominated by an impressive building known as the Newstead Hotel. It was a guest house owned by a Mrs. Millard and it catered to a small tourist trade mostly from North America. During the Second World War it became the temporary headquarters of the B division of the Leeward Islands Battalion of the British West Indies Regiment.

The island’s administration acquired the building on the 1st December 1945 for the price of £5000 which at the time was considered very expensive. Government was growing and areas which were once administered by the Leeward Island Federation were becoming the responsibility of the various islands. The building housed the departments of Social Welfare, Education and Labour. In 1949 it also welcomed the extramural office of the newly founded University College of the West Indies until 1970 when it moved to its present location.

In 1956 the Leeward Islands Federation, which at the time consisted of the Presidencies of Antigua, Montserrat, St. Christopher and Nevis, and the British Virgin islands was dissolved as a prelude to the launching of the Federation of the West Indies. This meant that that each territory had to assume responsibilities for the running of its entire administration whereas previously some departments were run from a central office in Antigua. New offices had to be created and housed. A new structure was to be constructed on lower Church street on the site adjoining the Newstead building and occupied by the Waterloo building and other private residences.

In St. Kitts the task of designing the new Administration Building was given to architect Colin Laird. His design produced a three storey structure around an open lobby to allow air to circulate. Conscious of the heat generated by the tropical sun, Laird recessed windows in the front of the building and created wide galleries overlooking the lobby to maximise shade to maximise shade.

The new building was completed in 1965 and housed the Legislative Council Chamber and offices for the Chief Minister and three other ministries. In 1967, when the island assumed Associated Statehood some of these office had to be moved out into other public buildings. Over time space became a premium and some offices actually extended into the open but protected galleries.

In 1993 the administration decided to extend the building into the land occupied by the Newstead. Maintenance was inconsistent and termite damage was becoming prevalent. Throughout most of the late 1980s the building stood vacant, a distant memory of its former elegance. Finally in 1994 it was pulled down to make room for the expansion of Government Headquarters. The renovated and extended Government Headquarters was officially opened in 1995.

In 1981 the Treaty of Basseterre, launching the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States was signed at Government Headquarters.

PREMIERS

• Robert Bradshaw
• C. A. Paul Southwell
• Lee L. Moore
• Kennedy Simmonds

PRIME MINISTERS

• Kennedy Simmonds
• Denzil Douglas

When the tiny settlement of Basseterre was founded in 1627 College Street was very likely its western boundary but with the growth of the population and the construction work undertaken by Governor De Poincy, the settlement gradually grew into a small town.

College Street got its name from the Jesuit College which was erected north of the town (now Douglas Estate). The Jesuits had replaced the Capuchins in 1642 after De Poincy expelled them for what he considered to be interference in the very volatile politics of the island.

By the end of the 17th century, numerous battles were fought for the control of the island. In 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht, France was required to give up its interest in the island and St. Kitts became a British possession. The land that had formerly belonged to the French became available for settlement by others but some of it had already been occupied. A number of poor people settled in College Street. Among them were Darby Sullivan, John Perschon, James Mitchell, Thomas South, Thomas Norman, Mary Barry, William Price, James Neale, John Papin, Peter Duey, James Goffe, John Mackenze, and Christopher Mardenborough who together petitioned the Commissioners who were appointed to sell the French lands to allow them to keep the land they had settled on. The Commissioners however thought the property was too valuable to be left in the hands of a few poor families. Instead they were given land near the Salt Ponds on the South East Peninsula where they and their descendants were left to eke out a living as best they could.

At the bottom of College Street there was a customs house at the beginning of the 19th century. At this point it is not clear when it was erected there but it might have happened soon after the English take over of the island. This location placed it close to Church Street, which was the centre of administration for a number of years until the Court house was erected in the Square in 1792.

However College Street has a history that is closely linked to its geographical location. The street is actually located in a ghaut or a river. The rainfall in hills above St. Peters, that collects in the Olivee's and Fountain Rivers flows down College Street.

On the 12th April 1792 the St. Christopher Chronicle published this story which was reproduced in the Cornwall Chronicle and Jamaican General Advertiser 23rd June 1792.

On Saturday night we were visited by one of the most dreadful calamities that has been experienced in this devoted island.

We had for several days before frequent showers of rain: but on that night it fell so heavy that it appeared to come down as sheets of water.

A little before ten a prodigious flood came down College Street, carried away or greatly damaged every home from Lt. General Lossack’s estate to Mr Jules house near the little market; it took a little turn a little above this house, carried away the parsonage house, and all the small ones adjoining, burst with incredible violence through the church which providentially (being a large body and very strong) divided it into three streams; one took its course towards the gate that leads into Cayon Street and forced its way through Mrs Byrnes and Mr Queely’s yards and then into Cayon and Church Streets.

Another of the tremendous bodies of water passed a little to the eastward of the former and lodged against all the houses from Church Gate to the unfortunate Mrs. Tudor’s late dwelling.

The third went round the Eastern Part of the Church and ran directly into Mr. Skilling’s yard, from hence meeting no outlet, it passed into Captain Ford’s and Captain Slegg’s yards where, meeting with the same opposition as Mr Skillings it forced away the fence and an out house of the editor’s. At this critical moment the families of the above mentioned house were retired to rest and were unacquainted with their danger. The Editor and family alone were up who, finding the pressure of the water and the quantity that was forcing itself through the crevices immediately through every door open. The water flowed breast height with prodigious force through three doors in the front of the house, that emptied the water into Cayon Street, which at this time ran beyond the power of a mortal to describe.

Outhouses, lumber, casks etc were then flowing into the editors yard that it was with great difficulty they were kept from choking up the passages for the tremendous body to pass that entered the back of the building. In the situation he continued some time till when the flood was at its greatest height and when he did not expect to stem its violence any longer, Mrs. Tudor’s house gave way and made a large breach for the water at the same time as Captain Slegg’s house, which was occupied by one of his negroes, who was carried away in the house, but was providently saved in the market adjoining the printing office, went.

Poor Mrs. Tudor, who lately buried an amiable son, has now to lament the untimely loss of an amiable daughter. The mother and son were happily taken out of the surf – they were much bruised, but are a fair way to recovery. But Mrs. Tudor has not been heard of since – she rests with the dead.

Two daughters of the late Mrs Jane Lewis who died about four weeks ago were also in the house; one of them shared the fate of Mrs. Tudor, the other was saved in the square.

Another catastrophic event took place in 1880. On the night of the 11-12th January 1880 the dangers of College Street were made vividly and fatally clear. The Official Gazette of St. Christopher estimated that 36 inches of rain fell in less than six hours. Two hundred thirty one persons lost their lives but only one hundred sixteen were actually recovered. The whole of Basseterre suffered sever damage but the buildings on College Street were torn from their foundations and carried to the sea. The water mains broke and water from the reservoir added to the already significant damage which extended all the way across Pall Mall Square (now Independence Square). In his report on the protection of Basseterre against flooding, Captain S Arthur Alexander of the Royal Engineers then in Antigua, blamed the disaster on the poor choice of location for the town. He said that it was on the flood plain of a number of small rivers that flow from the surrounding hills but it should have been located on the bluff occupied by Fort Thomas and extended into the estates of Limekiln, Buckley and La Guerite and recommended that the town be relocated there. However realising that this might not have been feasible he made a number of suggestions which included the clearing of the land between Market Ghaut and College Ghaut of every structure and strong retaining walls built particularly on the Eastern Side of College Street between the Moravian and Anglican churches. Civil Engineer Blanc saw the flooding as a consequence of neighbouring estates not clearing accumulated sand and debris, This was an ever present task. In 1886, the Executive Council was informed that such sand was removed to the yards of houses in New Town and to Lucas estate (once located in the area now occupied by TDC hardware store.)

In 1884 the necessary law for the protection of Basseterre against flooding was passed, It gave the Governor-in-Council the authority to acquire the land to be cleared as long as its cost, along with the cost of construction of the retaining walls, did not exceed the vote provided for this project. The intention was to follow the directions set out by Captain Alexander. In 1885 the Governor was empowered to raise the necessary funds through debentures. Acquisition of the land started in 1888 (Recorded in th St. Christopher Register Series 4, Vol. D) and resulted in the widening of College Street to its present dimensions. Despite these changes when the rainfall is very heavy, flooding continued to occur as in 1924

For a number of years a culvert allowed the water coming from the hills to trickle down the Ghaut and into the street to the sea. However after Hurricane Hugo a bridge was built linking the top of Market Street to the top of College Street removing obstacles that might have hindered the flow of flood water as well as improving the movement of traffic. The wisdom of this decision was seen first during the passage of Hurricane Georges (21 Sept 1998) which lingered over St. Kitts for a long time and caused considerable water damage. It was further emphasised on the night of the 28th November 1998 when an enormous amount of rainfall in just a matter of hours again caused flooding in College and Market streets and spread mud throughout most of central Basseterre. The torrent was such that it covered the bridge for a while and when it subsided. People crossing the bridge on their way home from a concert at the Basseterre High School could see boulders being tumbled under it by the still turbulent waters.

College Street remains a place to be avoided when rain starts to fall even if the showers are light as it is not always possible to tell how much rainfall had already poured in the hills above Basseterre.

When the British took over Basseterre in 1713 they slowly moved their institutions of administrations and justice from Old Road to Basseterre and more specifically to Church Street. It was not long before these early structures were outgrown by the need for space and new locations had to be found.

Plans to erect a court house in the Square were first formalised in an Act passed in 1750. It was obvious even then that the building was to house a number of offices which included that of the Public Secretary, the Registrar, and the meeting rooms for the Council and Assembly. A jail was to be built close by. These arrangements did not materialise immediately.

In 1772 the meeting place of the Assembly in Basseterre was completely destroyed by a hurricane and the lumber and shingles were sold for fear that the might be lost to thieves. A new place had to be found for meetings making the construction of a new council hall more urgent.

It was in 1792 the administration acquired the property called The Tontine on the south eastern side of the square. The property measuring 70 feet from North to South and 104 feet from East to West had belonged to the Rawlins family but was then the property of Webbe Hobson who had acquired several pieces of land around Pall Mall Square. The Tontine cost Government 5500 pounds current money. In part payment, Hobson was given the Old Court House which had been located on the Eastern side of Church Street on a lot measuring 51 feet from North to South and 142 feet from East to West and valued at 800 local currency. The balance was raised by a tax on slaves and on real estate in Basseterre, Old Road and Sandy Point. In February 1793, the tax assessments had not been completed and a new act placed the matter in the hands of the parish constables and penalised those who did not pay it.

The new Court House became the home of various courts. These included

*   Vice Admiralty Court which dealt with offences committed at sea including the illegal importation of slaves after 1807 when the slave trade was abolished

*  Court of Kings Bench/Queens Bench and Common Pleas which was a senior court of common law, with civil and criminal jurisdiction

*  Court of Chancery which dealt with disputes relating to estates

There were also a number of smaller courts including Grand Sessions, Quarter Sessions, Special Sessions which dealt with criminal charges against slaves, Court of Errors, Court of Complaints, Insolvent Debtors and Debtors, Magistrates’ Court, Special Justices – these were the stipendary magistrates who were appointed to deal with matters arising during Apprenticeship. Only the magistrate who sat in Basseterre would have used the Court House.

The Courthouse was also significant from the point of view of administration of civil matters. It housed the offices of the Land Registry and from 1817 to 1834 provided facilities for the Registrar of Slaves. It also provided accommodation for the Assembly and the Council. Effectively, this meant that the centre of administration had shifted from Church Street to the Square from 1792. In 1894 the building became the home of the Public Library which was responsible for numerous archival holdings until a partial move to the new Administration Building was made in 1965. For a number of years, the Ministry of Health was also located at the Court House.

Over the years the Court house was the meeting place for the Royal Commissions that visited the island to investigate conditions here.  

The building burnt to the ground on the 1st of September 1982. Ten years later, Hugh A C Martin and Associates of Puerto Rico designed a new complex and Stephen and Associates of St. Kitts undertook the construction.    The construction of the present building using mainly concrete and which mirrors the look of the facia of the old building was completed in 1998. Much of the delay in completing the building was due to its location at a point where there are continuous water table fluctuations.

Today The building houses the Registrar’s Offices, Traffic citations, and Criminal and Civil courts. A new building at the western side of town, adjacent to the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College now houses the Charles Halbert Public Library. In 2004 the Court House building was renamed the Sir Lee L. Moore Legal and Judicial Complex.

Historical Trials

1826 Following concerns raised by Governor Charles Maxwell, a Grand Jury was convened to hear charges of cruelty against Richard Cardin who had kept Betto Douglas, a fifty-two year old, enslaved woman in the stocks for six months after she had demanded her freedom. The case was dismissed as frivolous.

1828 Captain Lazaro Buysan and the crew of thirty three men of the schooner Las Damas Argentinas were tried for piracy on the high seas after they attacked the Carraboo, an English brig while it was close to the Canary Islands. The pirate vessel was seized in the straits between St. Kitts and St. Eustatius. A young lawyer, James George Piguenit was assigned the defence of the Captain who was tried separately. Quartermaster Henry Harrison and ship’s surgeon Elias Harry Merriman were admitted as King’s Evidence. Five crew members had been recruited after the incident had taken place. Two cabin boys and an American who was sick at the time of the attack were reprieved. Two cabin boys and an American who was sick at the time of the attack were reprieved. The rest were executed on the gallows which were located in the place now occupied by the petrol storage facility

1935 Following the labour disturbances better known as the Buckley’s Riots, a number of individuals were brought to trial for rioting and other related charges. Noted barrister at law, Clement Malone (later Chief Justice) defended many of them.

1968 the trial of several persons detained following the 10th June invasion of St. Kitts by Anguillans and American mercenaries. These were dismissed on grounds that the detention order failed to state in detail why the detainees were being held, as required by the Constitution

1975 following the nationalization of the sugar lands, the owners took action against the Attorney General and the Minister of Lands. They were disputing the constitutional validity of the Sugar Estates Lands Acquisition Act of 1975. The court ruled that the act was unconstitutional as the act sought to limit compensation to ten million EC dollars.

CO-CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION is an ornate church constructed out of grey stone and located on the eastern side of Independence Square. In the early years of the French occupation of St. Kitts, the Jesuits had build a Roman Catholic Church and dedicated it to Our Lady. Notre Dame was burned in 1706 during the Anglo-French war and rebuilt later as St. Georges Anglican Church. The catholic congregation in St. Kitts diminished drastically in the years following the Treaty of Utrecht.

In 1713 the English forbade public worship of the Catholic religion in St. Kitts. Wealthy Catholic families erected cupolas on the tops of their houses as a sign for other catholics to come and worship. Only two such buildings remain in Basseterre both on Liverpool Row.

In 1829 an act was passed to remove some of the discrimination against the small number of catholics that were still present on the island. From time to time, the priest in Montserrat visited St. Kitts then in 1842 when Fr. Hugh McShane was appointed the first priest to serve on here. The Catholic presence was greatly enhanced by migration from neighbouring French St. Bartholomew and later by the presence of Madeiran indentured workers . To accommodate the growing numbers a church was to be built. This got underway in 1852 but progress was painfully slow as funds were scarce, Though the walls went up they remained exposed to the elements for too long and they could not support a roof. Fr. Philip Lynch completed the structure by buttressing them and putting on the roof. The Bishop in Roseau Dominica donated the 14 stations of the cross and a statue of the Virgin Mary.

By 1885 the building was  in a dilapidated state and could not accommodate the growing congregation. The Fr. Peter Smyth embarked on the project with an impressive ceremony of the blessing of the new foundation. It was attended by the Bishop and the parish priests from Antigua, Montserrat and St. Eustatius. Embellishments to the new church followed.

In 1895 a new bell was bought and in 1899 the organ of the church in Antigua was sent to Basseterre where it stayed till a new one replaced it in 1919.

In 1901 a new set of Stations-of-the-Cross was purchased and in 1903 the statue of the Immaculate Conception was enshrined in the church. However the tropics tend to play havoc on construction material and in less than 20 years the church was again in need of renovation.

In 1923 when St. Kitts was celebrating its first settlement, Fr. Rabaey reminded the congregation that the centenary of Catholic emancipation was due to be celebrated in 1929 and expressed the hope that a new church could be built by then.

Plans were drawn up in 1925 and exhibited to the public the following year. Contributions were received and Fr. Claeys thought it was time to assemble the construction material. He started by purchasing squared stones from Nevis.

In January 1927, the old church was emptied of its furnishings which were moved to the nearby hall that was to be a temporary place of worship. Demolition started on the 1st February. Pavement tiles where removed carefully so that they could be used again in the new church. Construction on the 17th March 1927 and was completed in less than two years. The new structure was dedicated on 6th December, 1928.

In 1981, the church was elevated to the status of co-cathedral within the diocese of St. John’s, Antigua.