Queen of the East appears headed for destruction

A last ditch plea to save one of Bermuda’s oldest homes from the wrecking ball seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

The National Trust had urged Government to re-list the Queen of the East’s listed status after developers outlined plans to demolish the building and replace it with apartments.

But there was no place for the old house on Crow Lane as the Government unveiled the latest batch of eight properties in Hamilton that will be considered for listed status earlier this month.

The trust’s executive director Jennifer Gray told the Sun she still hoped the property could be saved and planning proposals submitted in March would be rejected. The Queen of the East dates back to 1740 and enjoyed listed status until 2007.

Ms Gray added: “While the Queen of the East is just on the outskirts of the City, we cannot deny that we were saddened that our application seeking to have the building relisted was not successful.

“Saying this, we still hope that the application will be re-evaluated and that the planning application to demolish the building, which we believe is still to be determined, will be turned down.

“We cannot stress enough that the Queen of the East is one of the island’s most architecturally significant historic buildings.

“Its setting and environment recall many aspects of the island’s history and still impact today’s landscape, even by defining a much-loved historic view over the harbour.

“The Bermuda National Trust does not believe that this remarkable building on the edge of Hamilton is without a viable future and believes it would be a tragedy for it to be demolished.”

But Ms Gray welcomed the news that eight other buildings including Perot’s Post Office and the Old Town Hall, could be given listed building status in the near future.

She added: “This is undoubtedly a good step toward safeguarding a vitally important piece of the island’s cultural history, the City.”

The Bermuda Sun contacted the Department of Environment and Planning to ask why the Queen of the East had not been re-listed. But the department would not comment.