What Was the Royal Naval Dockyard?

The Royal Naval Dockyard was Britain’s principal naval base in the western Atlantic for more than 150 years. Construction began in 1809, after the American Revolution, when Britain needed a secure naval base that was no longer dependent on ports along the U.S. East Coast.

The Dockyard was built by a diverse workforce that included Royal Engineers, Royal Navy personnel, local skilled craftsmen, enslaved and free Black Bermudians, and formerly enslaved refugees who gained their freedom during the War of 1812. From 1824, thousands of British convicts were brought to Bermuda and housed aboard prison hulks off Ireland Island. They became the principal labour force, quarrying limestone, reclaiming land and constructing many of the docks, fortifications and historic buildings that survive today.

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The Dockyard served as a shipbuilding and repair yard, supply depot and heavily defended military stronghold, supporting Royal Navy operations across the Atlantic, Caribbean and North America. It also became Britain’s largest overseas convict establishment until transportation ended in 1863. The Royal Navy finally withdrew in 1995.

Today, the Royal Naval Dockyard is one of Bermuda’s most popular visitor attractions, home to museums, historic buildings, shops, restaurants and the island’s main cruise ship terminal.