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Roads

Take me home…

What does it matter that we take different road, so long as we reach the same goal?{f}

Roads may not sound exciting, but many of ours have a fascinating history

The anchorage area in Jamestown was formerly known as ‘The Roads’ - we think adapted from the French La Rade = Harbour.

Earliest History

Maps showing the development of our roads{g}:

Below: Out of JamestownCountry RoadsState of these roads

Out of Jamestown

Roads were not an immediate priority for the colonists arriving under Governor Dutton in 1659. They spent most of their time in Chapel Valley (now Jamestown), only going ‘up country’ (as it is still called today) for hunting and exploration{4}.

As they became established they found there were parts of the island they needed to visit regularly, but getting out of the valley was not easy, given that it is surrounded by steep cliffs. Three routes became established:

John Thornton, c1700
John Thornton, c1700{3}
Traced zig-zag
Traced zig-zag
1705 painting
1705 painting{h}

These were not originally roads as we know them today; they were merely well-trodden paths. Side Path was certainly in a relatively primitive state in 1677 when Halley visited; we know he had difficulty transporting his scientific equipment up it. According to the Records Cow Path was largely washed away by great cataracts of water fallen from the Skies in 1736, and never repaired{5}.

Shy Road/Ladder Hill Road seems to have been improved first. When the Plantation (now Plantation House but then literally a Plantation) was developed in 1673 it became necessary to haul goods to and from Jamestown, and the zig-zag path was not suitable. The new road, built early in the 18th Century and originally known as ‘Ladder Hill Path’ and later ‘Castle Path’, started at the base of the old path, behind where the Museum of St Helena is now, and took much broader sweeps up the hillside to make it navigable with carts. Much of the manual work would have been done by the enslaved. At the time there was no fort at Ladder Hill but there was a gibbet from which criminals and errant enslaved were hanged, in plain view of the populous in Jamestown. According to the Records, in 1710 ladies and visitors were carried up the new road by ‘Blacks’ at a charge of 1/6d(£0.075) per trip - which went, of course, to the owners, not to the enslaved themselves. The road was improved in 1733 by Governor Pyke, much to the anger of The East India Company Directors in London who thought the money should have been spent improving the island’s defences.

A better road up Side Path came next, again using the labour of the enslaved overseen by the island’s military, probably in the 1680s, possibly as a result of Halley’s complaints but also possibly not: two alarm guns were to be placed on the Ridge at Alarm Forest (at Alarm House) and an improved road may have been built to facilitate the transport of both the guns and the subsequent resources - troops; ammunition; powder, etc. Side Path was later extended as far as Hutts Gate and eventually in the late 18th Century all the way to Longwood.

Ladder Hill ‘Road’ was improved in 1771:

1781 by Lafitte (extract)
1781 by Lafitte (extract){i}

Lafitte’s map of 1781 (right) shows Side Path and both the old ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ path and the newer Shy Road/Ladder Hill Road.

The third route, up from the far Southern end of the valley, meeting Side Path at the top - now known as Constitution Hill - came much later.

The Mundens Road

Another project was the route up the eastern side of the valley to Mundens Fort, overlooking the landing place (The Wharf). Completed in 1713 this was a significant piece of engineering, requiring a strong stone retaining wall on the outer side, and an enormous amount of stone cutting around the high sea-facing cliffs of Mundens Hill. Later extended beyond the fort, this became the only land route into Ruperts Valley until the present route, Field Road, was built by Governor John Field in the 1960s. This route was eventually extended all the way round the island’s coastline as far as Banks Battery. You can see the route highlighted in the image below.

The Mundens route is still walkable - with care - as far as the fort, but was partially lost to the sea above Romans Cove in September 1981. This from the St Helena News Review, 4th September 1981:

The Highway Authority wishes to inform the public that the road leading from Mundens Point to Ruperts Bay will be closed with effect from today. Part of that section lies over Romans Cove and has been seriously undercut by the action of the sea. The Authority therefore agreed that people using that section would be in danger and decided to close it.

This from the St Helena News Review of 28th February 1986:

Four years ago, advice was given by the Highway Authority to the effect that part of Munden’s Point Road had deteriorated badly. Warning Notices were erected stating clearly that persons using the road did so at their own risk. Despite the warning, the road has continued to be used as a means of getting to and from Ruperts Valley.

A recent inspection of the road has revealed that there has been a further serious deterioration in its condition. The action of the sea in Romans Cove has now completely undercut the road in that area and many of the boundary parapet walls have disappeared in all sections; there is also evidence of rockfall from above the road.

Any persons using any part of the road, place themselves at considerable risk and Government will not accept liability in the event of an accident occurring - Warning Notices have been erected.

Country Roads

There were defences at Sandy Bay from the late 1690s (the defences are reported destroyed by Rollers in 1717) but there was no road and supplies were carried round the island by sea; a hazardous journey given that Sandy Bay is on the south-eastern side of the island so fully exposed to the Trade Winds and resultant seas. Governor Robert Jenkins built himself a house in Sandy Bay in 1741, but his only route there was an eight-mile cross-country horse ride so we assume he did not commute daily! However a rather precarious and winding road, extended from the route to the Plantation, followed two years later, and this remains today the road into Sandy Bay.

The cross-country route between Hutts Gate and the Plantation - incorporating what is now known as the ‘W Road’ (because of its shape) - was built around the same time as the Sandy Bay road, again based on an existing bridle path.

The route to Hutts Gate was extended to Longwood in or around 1787 when Governor Brooke identified the Longwood area as good for agriculture.

A route was proposed in the early 19th Century around the east (i.e. valley) side of High Knoll Fort, connecting upper Jamestown to Half Tree Hollow and the west of the island. But the Records report following consultation with the Directors of The East India Company:

Construction was never started{6}.

The state of these roads

In wet weather most of these roads were a quagmire and very greasy due to the presence of marl - a sort of sticky clay that covers a lot of the island’s surface. Sometimes they had a layer of broken stone placed over the worst sections, but this was the best that could be achieved with manual labour assisted perhaps with bullock-drawn carts. Fortunately the island has no significant rivers. The very few bridges that were required were invariably built of arched stonework, as was also used for the many miles of retaining walls. Rain is not uncommon on St Helena so for much of the year travelling must have been a nightmare.

Napoleon - good for our roads

Napoleon

Napoleon’s arrival on St Helena in 1815 changed everything. He could not, for security reasons, be housed in Jamestown (a decision with which the exile agreed - he valued his privacy), so Longwood House was chosen as his residence. His large staff had to be supplied, as did the many troops and defences set up to repel any attempt by his supporters to rescue him. This required a large number of new and improved roads, easily navigable in even the wettest weather. For example, a route had to be built down to Deadwood, where 500 soldiers were to be billeted.

In January 1816 it is recorded that Napoleon went riding in the direction of what is now Levelwood, but at that time there was no road so his journey was a rather adventurous cross-country ‘hack’. The accounts of his early time here say much about the state of the island’s ‘minor roads’ at the time, with several instances where the ox-cart intended to convey him and his party could not proceed due to the state of the road. On at least one occasion he was forced to get out and walk.

Fortunately (for our road network) no attempt was ever made to liberate Napoleon from his South Atlantic prison, so the 2,000-or so troops sent here to guard him had nothing much to do. Idleness leads to trouble, so they were put to work improving the island’s defences and its roads. By the time of Napoleon’s death in 1821 St Helena finally had the basis of a navigable road system, though much of the present network had not yet been developed.

Napoleon Street

Napoleon Street sign

What is currently Napoleon Street (in Jamestown) is clearly so-named because it leads out of town towards Longwood, where Napoleon stayed during most of his exile here, and also leads to The Briars, the other place he resided while Longwood House was being made ready. But what was it called before Napoleon arrived? We understand that it was previously known as Cock Street/Hill, but we don’t know either why or exactly when it was renamed. It may have been when the roadway was levelled and macadamised in 1838.

After Napoleon

Click for a 1960s image showing the old China Lane, before the current flats were built.

The financial effect of the reduction in troops following Napoleon’s death was keenly felt, and steamships took over from sailing ships depriving St Helena of its importance in world shipping{7}. What better to do with an otherwise work-less population than for the Crown (which took over the island from The East India Company in 1834) to employ them constructing infrastructure? The New Ground and Guinea Grass areas were built up in the 1850s, complete with most of the current system of roads (Sapper Way was added later). The road to Levelwood via Woody Ridge was built at around the same time, and then extended on to join the Sandy Bay road in its current configuration.

In 1847 construction began on a route from upper Jamestown, via the Heart Shaped Waterfall to Francis Plain, which would become known as ‘Barnes Road’ after Major George Barnes who supervised the project. Sadly the resulting route was found too steep for donkeys to pull carts, and was all but abandoned soon after its completion. It is navigable today only as a footpath. (More about this road on our page The Heart Shaped Waterfall.)

Another route was the one linking the ‘W Road’ to the Sandy Bay road, around the base of the Peaks and up Stitch’s Hill.

From 1840 onwards much of the road-building labour was provided by the newly-‘Liberated Africans’. This was of significant benefit to the costs of the works - they were not paid for their labours, whereas an island labourer would have earned 7s a day (7s=£0.35).

Shy Road sign

Perhaps the most important new road built in the 19th Century was the extension of Ladder Hill Road down the western side of the valley to what is now China Lane (near the General Hospital), completed in 1882. By avoiding the steep bends in what is now called Shy Road (which today is an upwards-only connection, with a near-impossible sharp right turn at the top), traffic flow between Jamestown and the Ladder Hill Fort and west of the island was dramatically improved. The new portion of the route was originally named Phillips Road, but soon the route was known as Ladder Hill Road in its entirety and the old lower portion from lower Jamestown became known as Shy Road. Incidentally we think we know how Shy Road got its name…see our page Place Names.

None of the routes to the west, along the ridge from Casons to Head o’Wain, Blue Hill, Thompsons Wood and South West Point, existed as roads in the 19th Century, though there were settlements and/or military installations in all of these. All these routes were bridle-paths only at this time.

Longwood Gate
Longwood Gate{j}

It is interesting to note that in the late 19th Century the opening and closing of gates along the road network was normal practice for road travel on the island. Most of the country roads passed over private land and very few were fenced so the various gates signified passing from one property to another and prevented the straying of livestock. Many of the old gateposts remain, usually as stout stone structures, and many place names derive from these gates: Red Gate at Red Hill on the road to Plantation; White Gate at the entrance to Plantation grounds; Green Gate at the entrance to Plantation forests from Scotland; Sandy Bay Gate at the entrance to Stitches Hill road; Hutts Gate at the entrance to Longwood district and giving access to Levelwood and Longwood roads; and Longwood Gate at the entrance to Longwood district.

We also think the image (right) shows the construction of China Lane (though it was probably also taken to record some event happening at St. John’s Church). Sadly we can’t date the image.

Someone was clever in 1885. The Secretary of State for The Colonies was advised that the roads on St Helena served no civilian purpose and were purely for the benefit of the military. As a result, responsibility for road maintenance was transferred to the War Department in London, which had much deeper pockets than the St Helena civilian administration! This plan was successful for only a while - in March 1909 a Road Tax was introduced at 3s/annum (£0.15).

More exiles; more roads

Zulu Prisoners working on Side Path, 1907
Zulu Prisoners working on Side Path, 1907

Boer Camp, Broad Bottom
Boer Camp, Broad Bottom

The impetus for improving the ridge route to Blue Hill and beyond seems to have been the housing of about half the Boer PoWs at Broad Bottom from 1900-1902. Indeed it is highly likely that the Boers themselves were employed in the road’s construction. The Zulu Poll Tax Prisoners (1907-1910) were also employed in road works, amongst other construction activities.

The commencement of the Flax Industry in the early 1900s also created a demand for improved roads to transport the processed flax from the mills dotted around the island down to Jamestown for loading onto ships. Heavy Bullock drays required tougher roads, to which end a Road Tax was introduced on 1st March 1909 at 3s (£0.15). The Blue Hill road was upgraded all the way to Thompsons Wood in the 1920s.

Sadly the road improvements were not uniform. In 1924 the streets of Jamestown were described as being in a bad state of repair and even worse than the country roads; the gravel streets frequently produced swirling dust that found its way into all the houses and buildings.

And then a technological arrival changed everything…

The First Motor Car

The First Car

In 1919 motorised transport was prohibited on St Helena by Ordinance. This was revoked in 1927 and the first car arrived two years later. Early cars struggled with roads quite passable by ox-cart, so a programme of road improvements soon began. A motor roller and stone crusher arrived in May 1928 and by November the same year 60 miles of island road were declared ready for the expected influx of motor cars. By the end of 1930 there were 14 cars and 5 lorries enjoying these new roads.

1933 and beyond

The road into The Briars was opened in 1937. Sealing of roads began after World War 2 and the same process is used today. This is not Tarmac, as is used elsewhere in the world. Chipped stone is pressed into Colas - a bitumen substance - with a roller to form a surface. Theoretically the excess stone is swept up, but in practice it is usually left in drifts on the road, presumably in the hope that vehicles will press it into the road; a mostly failed hope and much of the loose stone ends up blocking the roadside drains. The road to Blue Hill was upgraded in 1959.

Following the closure of the Flax Mills in 1966 the resulting unemployed were deployed on Government-funded projects, including improved access to Levelwood and Sandy Bay. Field Road, the current route into Ruperts Valley from the junction of Constitution Hill and Side Path, was built by Governor John Field, opening in May 1968; fortunately so because the older Mundens Road route via Mundens Fort was closed beyond the fort in 1981 due to undercutting by the sea. And the creation of the island’s Diplomatic Wireless Station in 1965 led to upgrading of the road from Longwood Gate past Piccolo Hill (where the Diplomatic Wireless Station Staff were housed) down into Bottom Woods.

At the end of the 1970s a new road was built by the Royal Engineers from New Ground to join the Red Hill road near Model Cottage. This very useful connecting road was accordingly named Sapper’s Way (now shortened to ‘Sapper Way’). By this time the last horses on the island had died so apart from a number of donkeys used almost exclusively for fodder transport our roads were given over exclusively to motor vehicles.

Ladder Hill Road (described in The ‘Blue Book’ for 1970/3 as this inevitably difficult and tortuous road) was widened in 2000 and the 15mph speed limit removed (it is now 20mph like the rest of Jamestown).

There are images of some of our modern roads (below):

Many of the old roads are only passable in an off-road vehicle - they were either never upgraded for vehicle use, or have since deteriorated. Aaron uses some of them in his Adventure Tour.

Our Newest Road

For the construction of St Helena Airport it was necessary to build a whole new route to transport the materials and equipment for construction from Ruperts to Prosperous Bay Plain. The route chosen climbed the eastern side of Ruperts Valley, proceeding on to Deadwood, then circuiting Longwood and Bottom Woods down to the Airport. Initially just a packed-earth track, it was always planned that when the ‘Haul Road’ was no longer needed it would be properly surfaced and added to our road network. Surfacing of the entire length was finished in 2016 and the section east of the Bottom Woods junction immediately became the official road to the airport. The part from Ruperts to Bottom Woods was not opened to the public until 7th June 2019 - the Government of St Helena did not, until then, have the budget to maintain the road. The opening ceremony was performed by Governor Rushbrook.

The full road, 14km long, is officially named the Airport Access Road, and is divided into seven named sections: African Slave Road (at the Ruperts end), Airbay Road, Boer Road, Flagstaff View, Pipe Ridge Pass, Wirebird Way and Wainwright Way (at the Airport end). See the article (below) for how the names were decided.

Incidentally, the entire Airport Access Road is Asphalt-surfaced. Basil Read had Asphalt making equipment available for surfacing the Airport runway… Also, while the road remained unsurfaced, it became popular with motorbike and 4x4 enthusiasts as an unofficial off-road driving track, causing the Government of St Helena to issue press releases warning unauthorised users if potential prosecution.

The road is also a great place from which to take pictures, as the following examples illustrate:

Other road-related detail

Below: Roundabouts and other traffic-control systemsAsphalt MachinePotholesMystery Road or TrackRules for Road UsersField Road/Side Path Refurbishment, 2021World Bicycle DayFascinating Facts

Roundabouts and other traffic-control systems

Traffic control bollard

No Cycling

The Mini-Roundabout outside The Cannister in Jamestown, the island’s first, came into operation on 2nd July 1987. Police were on duty for two weeks afterwards and notices were published on Radio St Helena and in Our Newspapers to help drivers correctly navigate this new-fangled device. The second, in Scotland, came in July 1990, and the third, and so-far final one, is up at the Airport.

The one-way system around the flats opposite St. John’s Church was introduced in the 1990s.

There are no permanent traffic lights on St Helena, though a portable set is sometimes deployed during roadworks. As with the first roundabout, there are normally notices published in Our Newspapers for the benefit of drivers who have not previously encountered a traffic-light and do not know what to do.

Although not strictly a traffic control device, in recent years mirrors have been appearing all over the island at junctions and corners with limited visibility. There are many, many such places and it has been quipped that if half the money spent on mirrors had instead been spent on filling in pot-holes driving on St Helena would be a lot more comfortable today.

In August 2020 a box-junction was introduced at the entrance to Ladder Hill Fort, at the top of Ladder Hill Road. The Highway Code (last updated: 1985) does not define box junctions so it was not clear on what legal basis the new restriction would be enforced.

Note that bicycles are prohibited on all the roads into/out of Jamestown.

The Asphalt Machine

Scrapped Asphalt Plant
Scrapped Asphalt Plant

As incomes began to rise after the Millennium (and also because in 2004 Bank of St Helena began offering car loans) people started buying and importing newer and more modern vehicles. Performance cars began to appear and this led to rising criticism of the poor state of the island’s roads - specifically the number of Potholes. The ‘spread and (hopefully) stick’ method of road maintenance was particularly unpopular due to the damage done to vehicles by the unstuck residue of loose stones.

Responding to this criticism, in 2011 the Government of St Helena purchased an Asphalt Plant, intended to manufacture Asphalt on the spot so that our roads could be given a stronger, more even surface without the drifts of loose stones. Sadly, when the machine arrived it was discovered that significant parts were missing and those parts that were present could not be operated safely. After many failed attempts to obtain the missing parts the machine had to be scrapped, at great wasted expense.

Potholes

Potholes cartoon

One complaint consistently made by road users is the state of repair (or lack thereof) of our roads. When potholes appear they are either inefficiently patched, or not at all. Lack of funding for the roads programme is the usual explanation. The potholes are more of a problem for cyclists and motorcyclists.

The one time when potholes can be confidently not expected is shortly before a new Governor arrives, on the route from the Airport to Plantation House; mysteriously all the lumps and bumps seem to get repaired at this time, but only here.

In all fairness, an uneven road surface is not as big a problem in a country where the maximum permitted speed is only 30mph as it would be where the speed limit is higher, but drivers blame the unevenness for damage to their vehicles.

The Asphalt Machine was supposed to fix the problem…

A Mystery Road or Track

We came across this old French postcard of St Helena. It isn’t dated but we assume it to be middle- to late-19th Century (before the extension of Ladder Hill Road down to China Lane, which was completed in 1882). It shows (left) a track or road leading from somewhere behind the Baptist Church snaking up the hillside to meet the Shy Road/Upper Ladder Hill Road junction. We can find no mention of this route in the Records.

We can’t tell from the photograph if this was simply a footpath or whether it could be used by vehicles. From the gradient it is likely it was for pedestrians only, though it looks wide enough for a narrow cart. It was probably made to allow the soldiers in The Barracks (the buildings in the centre bottom of the image) to get more quickly to and from Ladder Hill Fort without having to travel further down into the town to ascend Shy Road.

Can you tell us more about this route?

Rules for Road Users

Summarised from our page Driving in St Helena:

Wrecked car
Try not to crash

Field Road/Side Path Refurbishment, 2021

A major refurbishment of Field Road (into Ruperts) and Side Path was undertaken, starting in 2021, which included digging out and relaying as well as road widening (images, below). The logic for this was to improve traffic flow with the main goods port being moved to Ruperts (but all the warehouses remaining in Jamestown). The logical flaw in this was that Napoleon Street was not being similary upgraded; nor was it being widened (which it could not be because of the houses and Historic Buildings on both sides), and no alternative route was provided for lorries to enter Jamestown. This problem was highlighted during consultations, but the works proceeded anyway…

Phase 1: Side Path

In May 2022, due to the Government of St Helena being unable to acquire on-island the materials to meet the original specifications, Executive Council decided that the road would instead have a concrete surface instead of the originally-planned bituminous pavement (i.e. Tarmac). In the announcement it was stated that this would increase the life of the road, though how an inflexible concrete surface will respond to the fundamentally-unstable hillside over which the road runs remains to be seen.

In November 2022 it was announced that the renovated Side Path would re-open on 20th December, which it did. The refurbished road was officially opened on 19th January by visiting Deputy Director of the Overseas Territories Directorate from the FCDO, Adam Pile. Finalisation works began on 5th February 2023. It wasn’t until towards the end of March when someone crashed into the refurbished side wall, destroying about 5m of it…

Phase 2: Field Road

Work started on Phase 2 - Field Road - on 18th September 2023. The road was closed and all traffic to and from Ruperts had to use the ‘Haul Road’ via Longwood. By the middle of October the old Field Road had been, effectively destroyed, as the first photo in the gallery below demonstrates.

World Bicycle Day

Mountain biking trail

3rd June is designated World Bicycle Day but there is unlikey to be any celebration on St Helena. Our terrain makes bicycles an impracticable means of everyday transport. Some fitness enthusiasts do ride pedal bicycles around the island, any many car drivers will stop to wish them well (or express sympathy), but note that bicycles are banned on all three of the roads into/out of Jamestown so you have to get off and push your bike up or down the road. Or you can try Mountain Biking

Fascinating Facts

Read More

Below: Article: Restoring a historical pathArticle: Naming the Airport Access Road

Article: Restoring a historical path

By Liam Yon, SAMS, published in The Sentinel, 4th November 2021{9}

Scouts work towards Community Service Activity Badge

The First Jamestown Scout Group is currently working towards achieving their Community Service Activity Badge by working to clear the path from ‘Long Turning’ on Ladder Hill Road to the bottom end, opposite the Barracks Square in Jamestown. This project was decided by myself and former Scout, Basil George, who also commands significant Island historic knowledge and a keen interest in the Island’s built heritage, said Scout Leader, Gavin George.

The path, currently being restored, was originally the only access route from Ladder Hill to Upper Jamestown, whilst the horse and carriage track continued along Shy Road into lower town, with the second half of Ladder Hill road down to China Lane only being completed later. The path in question also has a connection with the Scouts. The path was built by the military to connect the Garrison at Ladder Hill with the military buildings that stretched from Seales’ Corner to the top of the Botanical Gardens, including Barracks Square, where one of the buildings on the far side of the Square became the first Scout Hall, explained Gavin.

Although the path is occasionally used by members of the public, obstructions along the way, including aloe, rocks and rubble, meant it was not in a fit state, said Gavin. Starting the clearing around four months ago, members of the Scouts have undertaken one-hour sessions on Tuesday afternoons picking up rubbish, clearing vegetation and removing stones and rubble.

Though lead by the First Jamestown Scout Group, the project did receive some welcome assistance during the recent visit of Royal Navy vessel HMS Protector. Six personnel from HMS Protector joined us for one extended session on 12 October, following a visit to the Scout Hall of the ship’s Commander, Tom Boeckx, during their first visit in early September, said Gavin. The Commander is also a Scout Leader when on shore leave in the UK.

Article: Naming the Airport Access Road

Government of St Helena Press Release issued 15th December 2015{9}

In July 2015 a competition to name the Airport Access Road was held in all Island schools. Run on behalf of the Environment & Natural Resources Committee (ENRC) the competition attracted 153 entries.

Naming the Airport Access Road

Chairperson of the ENRC, Councillor Pamela Ward Pearce, said: Due to the high quality of entries received and following a site visit to the Access Road, the Committee decided that the 14km road would lend itself to several names in different sections of the road. We therefore decided on seven names, with one student winning two prizes.

Certificates and prizes were awarded to winning students this week. Competition winners were:

Councillor Ward Pearce added: The Committee chose the winners based on the different elements along the Airport Access Road. We liked African Slave Road as this shows the area where the recent excavations uncovered the African graves. Airbay Road was felt to encompass the flow of the road from the Airport to Rupert’s Bay. Boer Road and Pipe Ridge Pass were sections near the old roads of those names, while Flagstaff View and Wirebird Way are sections where you have a view of Flagstaff and the Wirebird nesting area respectively. Finally Wainwright Way was chosen to honour our own Sharon Wainwright who worked so hard to make the Airport a reality but sadly did not live to see it to fruition.

LOL

Credits:
{a} St Helena Airport Limited{b} Government of St Helena{9}{c} Andrew Turner{d} Copyright © South Atlantic Media Services Ltd. (SAMS), used with permission.{e} St Helena News (group){f} Mohandas Gandhi{g} First four: Ken Denholm, from ‘A History of Road Development’; fifth from Tourist Information Office, 2014{h} Vue de la baie de Jamestown, 1705, by A. Callendar{i} UK National Archives MPH 1/251{9}{11}{12}{j} Derek Richards

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Footnotes:
{1} It is written currectly on the 2020 Ordinance Survey Map (extract, right{b}) [Image, right]

OS Map 2020

{2} ‘Flagstaff’ is a single word{1}.{3} A higher resolution but monochrome version of this map exists.{4} By way of illustrating this point, Speery Island, off the island’s Southernmost tip, was not discovered until 1722 - 63 years after the island was colonised!{5} Recently someone did attempt to ascend the hill following the old route, and succeeded only with great difficulty.{6} Note also the pattern, established in The East India Company days and continuing even today, of infrastructure projects being proposed by St Helena and turned down by London.{7} Steamships could make the journey from The Cape to Europe without the need for an intermediate stop, so St Helena became unnecessary.{8} We are told that the highest speed actually obtained on a St Helena road is 120mph, but obviously we have not verified that - and neither have the Police.{9} @@RepDis@@{10} Incorrectly written as Flag Staff View on the ‘Faulty Signpost,’ (see above).{11} Not to be confused with the St Helena Archives.{12} Download the full map.

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