Church built by slaves is dedicated
November 17, 1827
Cobb’s Hill Methodist Church, a chapel painstakingly built by slaves and free blacks over two years, was dedicated.
Black Bermudians, slave and free, had been enthusiastic supporters of the Methodist church ever since 1799 missionary Rev. John Stephenson arrived on the Island and was jailed the following year for preaching to slaves.
Rev. Joshua Marsden arrived in Bermuda eight years later and built a chapel and a mission house in Hamilton as well as a Sunday school during his tenure.
In 1818, Barbadian slave Edward Fraser arrived on the island with his Bermudian owner Francis Lightbourn.
Fraser [right], an educated man, had been introduced to the Methodist Church in Barbados. Soon after arriving on the Island, he joined a Methodist congregation in Warwick, where he quickly
established himself as a leader.
Fraser saw the need for building. Bermuda’s progressive Chief Justice James Esten, who had defended Stephenson during his trial and advocated education for slaves, donated the land.
Fraser supervised the construction of the church, which began in 1825, with slaves labouring in their free time, on moonlit nights and on public holidays, to get the job done. Women contributed to the building effort, helping men to carry stone from neighbouring quarries to the building site.
A report in the March 1, 1944 issue of the Bermuda Recorder, had this to say: “On November 17th 1827, this building was dedicated to the worship of God, a monument to the faith, devotion and labours of those early Christian slaves and should be so revered unto all generations.
“This splendid achievement shows what a few feeble people by the grace of God can accomplish.”
The one-room chapel, which has a small balcony, has been in continuous use since 1827. It is located on Moonlight Lane, behind Warwick Workmen’s Club and is a site on the African Diaspora Heritage trail. Fraser was freed in 1828 and eventually returned to the Caribbean as a Methodist missionary.
Sources: Chained on the Rock by Cyril Outerbridge Packwood; Heritage by Dr. Kenneth Robinson; The Bermuda Recorder, March 1, 1944.
Image of Rev. Fraser courtesy Bermuda Maritime Musem.
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Cyril Outerbridge Packwood
November 22, 1930-January 14, 1998
Librarian, historian, author
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Cyril Packwood - and his ground-breaking book, Chained On The Rock.
Photo of Packwood courtesy Bermuda Maritime Museum.
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Cyril Packwood was a librarian with a passion for history. He was the author of Chained on the Rock, the first definitive account of slavery in Bermuda.
Published in 1975, after Packwood spent several years doing painstaking research in the Bermuda Archives during summer vacations, Chained on the Rock shed light on an important aspect of Bermuda’s history that had previously been swept under the carpet.
He was born in Wellington, St. George’s, the only child of Cyril and Gladys (Outerbridge) Packwood. His father was a former St. George’s Cup Match cricketer. Packwood attended Temperance Hall, East End primary school and Berkeley Institute.
He left Bermuda at age of 15 to complete his high school education in the U.S., and with the intention of becoming a dentist. At Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, he came under the influence of Harlem Renaissance writer and historian Arna Bontemps and decided to study history.
Packwood received a bachelor’s degree in history from Fisk in 1953 and a master of science in library science from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, a year later. He received a second master’s degree, in history, from Hunter College in New York in 1972.
He spent most of his professional life in New York. He worked in the New York Public Library system from 1957 to 1968 and from 1968 to 1985, at the Borough of Manhattan Community College Library, where he was supervising librarian.
In 1985, he was appointed head librarian of the Bermuda Library, the first black person to hold the position.
He breathed new life into the library. He organised evening lectures, instigated upgrades of its computer system and started a video rental system, all with the goal of bringing more people into the library. He was head librarian for eight years, until his retirement in 1993.
Packwood’s other books included Detour Bermuda, Destination U.S. House of Representative: The Life of Joseph Rainey, about the former slave who took refuge in Bermuda during the U.S. Civil War, and went on to become the first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
During his years in New York, Packwood lived near Lincoln Centre and enjoyed all the cultural pursuits the city had to offer, from opera to theatre.
His deep and abiding love for Bermuda was matched by his love of Africa. He led cultural tours of Africa for many years and had criss-crossed the African Continent.
He was married to Dorothy, an artist and fellow librarian. The couple had one daughter Cheryl Packwood, a Harvard University-educated lawyer, who is currently chief executive officer of the Bermuda International Business Association, and three grandsons.
Packwood died at age 67 of complications of heart bypass surgery.
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New book celebrates 400 years, 400 people
Bermuda’s 400th anniversary committee has just launched a new book containing biographies and family portraits of people who have contributed to Bermuda over four centuries. Bermuda 1609-2009—400 Years, 400 Portraits is now in bookstores, priced $60 for hardcover copies, $20 for the soft-cover version. Bermudabiographies.bm editor Meredith Ebbin served as editor of the book, overseeing a team of contributing editors and writers, who included Chris Gibbons, the designer of this website. Ms Ebbin says: “Working on the book for the last year has increased my appreciation for Bermuda’s history. I hope the book will be a starting point for anyone wishing to learn about people who have helped make Bermuda what is it today.”
Royal visit
Details of Queen Elizabeth II's visit in honour of the Island’s 400th anniversary have been released. A motorcade, tours of St. George’s and Dockyard and a service at the Anglican Cathedral are on the royal schedule. She arrives in Bermuda on November 24 and departs for Trinidad two days later.
Historic building
gets reprieve
A property on East Broadway that was one of the first schools for blacks following Emancipation has been given provisional listed status—the first step in a process that would save it from development. It follows public opposition to an application by the owners of Moonray Manor for a commercial rezoning. The building dates back to 1836 when it opened as The Lane School, one of the first two school built by the Anglican church for freed slaves following Emancipation. Bios of the first two headmasters of the Lane School will be posted on our website later this month.
Riding the
history train
Fancy a free train ride along the route of the recently unveiled City of Hamilton Walkway of History? The train will take off from Nellie’s Walk at City Hall on Sundays at 3 pm throughout November. The rides are free, but tickets must be collected in advance from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs. Telephone 292-9447 for more info.
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BNG celebrates
four centuries
The Bermuda National Gallery’s latest exhibit celebrates the Island’s artistic heritage from 1609 to the present. ‘4 Centuries: Evolving Art’ showcases work from the collections of the BNG and the Bermuda National Trust, as well as from private collections, and includes maps, cedar furniture, photographs, paintings and Gleeson dolls. See www.bng.bm for more details.
Masterworks
in full sail
Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art puts the spotlight on the Island’s maritime heritage in ‘We are Sailing’, an exhibit staged in honour of Bermuda’s 400th anniversary. For more on the exhibit, which runs until the end of the year, visit www.bermudamasterworks.com
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