Letter: Your story on the 'Queen of the East' brought fond memories flooding back

Dear Sir,

Thank you for printing the story about the Queen of the East.

I, too, am one of the grandchildren of Dr and Mrs Norman Taylor who lived in their retirement years at this house. Bob Taylor is my cousin, and although I haven’t seen or spoken to him in a number of years, we share fond memories of visiting our grandparents and staying with them at this wonderful old home.

I spent three summers — 1961, ‘62 & ‘63 (aged 13, 14, & 15) — staying there during which I participated in a kids summer camp offering sailing and tennis during the week and enjoying traveling around your beautiful island on the weekends. The final summer I was able to get a motorbike — what a thrill for a kid!

Grandfather Taylor had gone to Harvard before World War I and became acquainted with Bernard Wilkinson when they both were college students which, I suppose, led to his moving to Bermuda during his retirement years.

As a result of this, my grandparents became active in Bermuda society — dinners at the Mid-Ocean Club, the RBYC and so on. They really enjoyed their retirement.

During those years Bayfield Clark used a portion of the house as his office and it was immaculately kept.

The roof was gleaming white, the garden tended lovingly by grandfather Taylor, the outside a lovely shade of pink.

My grandparents furnished it with fine antiques and beautiful artwork.

Everything was spit and polish with grandmother making delightful dinners which they shared with me after polite conversation and sundowners in the garden gazing over Hamilton Harbour.

It is very sad to see how dilapidated the place has become. What a shame to lose this piece of Bermuda history. I recall grandfather Taylor being very amused at the home’s history as a one-time brothel and chuckling when he would say that all a person had to do was tell the taxi driver “Take me to the Queen of the East” and they would say “Yes sir - I know right where that is”.

When a once pristine and charming historic home like this is torn down, it is gone forever. The more this type of action is allowed to happen the more Bermuda will lose the warmth and charm which brings in all the visitors in the first place.

David W. Wood Jr