Sailing to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean 1500
Visiting Road Town: Old Government House
Old Government House used to be the residence of the Governor of the British Virgin Islands. The original house on the site was built in 1899 but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1924. The present house was built in 1925 and was used until 1999. At that time, the Governor moved into temporary quarters while a new Government House was constructed. The new residence was built on a site next door and was completed in 2003. As part of building the new residence, the old residence was converted into the present museum, which opened in 2003.
Most of the rooms are furnished with representative period furniture and accessories. Additional rooms contain displays of historical artifacts and information plus a gift shop. Upstairs, one room displays a very large collection of postage stamps, containing virtually every stamp issued by the British Virgin Islands in the past 140 years (postage stamps are a big thing here).
When I visited in late 2007, the hours were 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday through Saturday, with a $3.00 admission fee. It was well worth the visit.
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| Exterior views of Old Government House.Click on the left-hand picture to see a bigger version; use your browser's "back" command to return here. |
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| Two interior views of the same room. Click on either picture to see a bigger version; use your browser's "back" command to return here. |
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| Views of the dining room. Click on either picture to see a bigger version; use your browser's "back" command to return here. |
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| One of several murals painted on the walls of the dining room. |
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Internet Links For This Section
- Old Government House - online BVI newspaper article about its reopening as a museum
- Stamp Exhibit - article about the stamp exhibit at Old Government House, from a tourism site