English: Residential suburb near the old
St. George's Garrison, with
"Town Cut Battery" or
"Gate's Fort" in the foreground (with
Cut Road behind it), on the northern side of the
Town Cut shipping channel, and
St. George's Town and
harbour in the background, with
Fort George on the peak of
Mount Hill beyond, and a small ship is visible docked at
Ordnance Island, off the town square]].
The Town Cut had been a minor channel, suitable only for small vessels to enter or exit the harbour, until dredged before the
First World War. Before then, larger vessels had used the St. George's Channel between
Paget Island and
Governor's Island, which was watched over by
Fort Paget (on Paget Island) and
Smith's Fort (on Governor's Island). In the 19th Century,
Fort Cunningham was erected on Paget Island, making all three of the earlier batteries redundant.
Alexandra Battery (at
Building Bay on St. George's Island, immediately to the north of Cut Battery) and
St. David's Battery on
St. David's Island were later added (there were also three other forts armed with
coastal artillery batteries to the North-West of Building Bay:
Fort St. Catherine's at St. Catherine's Point, and
Fort Victoria and
Fort Albert on Retreat Hill, to its rear). St. George's Town and the various forts and related military installations at the East End of Bermuda are together a
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO)
World Heritage Site, the
Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda.
[1]
[2]