On the original plan are the following notes: “All within the yellow
lines is Crown property.” “The blue lines represent the town of Port
Royal before the great earthquake of 1692.” “The red line is what
remained of the town after the earthquake.” “The ochre colouring
represents the town as it now stands.” “True copy from Morris, original
Survey. The blue, red and yellow lines added by me.” (Signed) Thos.
Harrison, Govt. Surveyor, 20th September, 1870; (Signed) J. R. Mann, D.
of Rds. and Surveyor-General, 24th October, 1870.
The following interesting experience of a diver during his visit to
submerged Port Royal, appeared in the “Falmouth Post,” of October 7,
1859.
SIR,—Being aware that many erroneous statements regarding my
explorations of old Port Royal have been circulated, I beg to offer
the public, through the medium of your valuable journal, the following
statement, should you deem it worthy a place in your columns.
I first went down on the remains of the old Port Royal on the 29th
August, and found that what I had heard with regard to some of the
buildings being seen when the water was clear was correct. I landed
among the remains of ten or more houses, the walls of which were from
3 to 10 feet above the sand. The day was rather cloudy and I could
only get a view of a small portion at a time.
After repairing H.M. Ship _Valorous_, I went down again on the 9th
instant, at what is called at Port Royal, “The Church Buoy,” but which
ought to be called the “Fort Buoy,” it being placed on the remains of
old Fort James; but the day was unfavourable, the water being muddy—so
that I could not see much; and being impressed with the idea that it
must have been the remains of the church on which I was, my
explorations that day were not satisfactory. About 12 o’clock (being
then down four hours) the water cleared a little, and getting a better
view I concluded that the ruins which I was on must have been those of
a fort. But soon after I found a large granite stone somewhat the
shape and size of a tombstone, which was covered with a coral
formation, so that I could not tell whether it had an inscription or
not. Fancying this stone to have been a tombstone, thereby indicating
the vicinity of a churchyard, I was not satisfied what the character
of the building could have been. I came to the surface about 1 o’clock
determined to wait a more favourable day. In the meantime Mr. de Pass
was so good as to obtain for me, from the collection of Henry
Hutchings, Esq., a map of the old town as it stood before the
earthquake, by which I learnt that the ruins, of the nature of which I
had all along my doubts, were in fact the ruins of old Fort James, and
that the Church stood about the east end of the present dockyard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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