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Barbados Overview
Barbados Brief History
Barbados Cruise Port
Barbados Cruise Ships
Barbados Attractions: Beaches
Barbados Attractions: Bathsheba
Barbados Attractions: Great Houses
Barbados Attractions: Gun Hill Signal Station
Barbados Attractions: Gardens
Barbados Beach Hop (South Coast Beaches)
Barbados Concorde Experience
George Washington House Barbados
Harrison's Cave, Barbados

Crane Beach, Barbados
Walking to Bridgetown
Norwegian Jewel in Barbados video
Barbados Links
Caribbean cruise destinations
CRUISING TO THE CARIBBEAN:



BARBADOS
ATTRACTIONS:

GUN HILL SIGNAL STATION

Gun Hill Signal Station, Barbados
Picture
The Gun Hill Signal Station was built in the days before electronic media in order communicate important information throughout the island in a timely manner.   Using signal flags and cannon shots, a message could be relayed from one signal station to another across the island in a few minutes time.  As a result, the authorities and the population would have time to react to warnings of approaching enemy ships, civil disorder, hurricanes and other threats.  The signal stations were also used to communicate less potentially catastrophic but important  information such as the correct time.      

Gun Hill Signal Station, Barbados
Gun Hill Signal Station, Barbados
Built between 1818 and 1819, Barbados' six signal stations were operated by the British military at first.  In addition to using them as a communications network, the stations and their surrounding areas were used to house the island's military garrison during epidemics.  They could also be used as rallying points in case of invasion or of rebellion.

In addition to the prominent signal tower, a station had living quarters and a magazine.  Two soldiers normally manned the station. 

Following the military, the stations were operated by the Barbados police for a time.  But when other forms of communication rendered them obsolete, they were abandoned and left to deteriorate.

In 1982, the Barbados National Trust restored the Gun Hill Signal Station opened it to the public.     
Gun Hill Signal Station, Barbados
On display at the Gun Hill Signal Station today are 19th century cannons and military artifacts relating to the operation of the signal stations.  Furthermore, inasmuch as the signal station was built on one of the highest hills in Barbados, it offers panoramic views of the island including of Bridgetown and the cruise port.

Gun Hill Signal Station is a popular stop for shore excursions and on independent island tours.   There is an admission fee. 
British lion statue, Gun Hill Signal Station, Barbados
British lion statue, Gun Hill Signal Station, Barbados
On the slope  of the hill leading up to the signal station is a statue of a lion holding a globe.  This symbol of the British Empire  was carved from a single piece of rock in 1868 by one of the officers manning the station. 
For more about cruising to Barbados:

Click here for our page on Barbados' gardens
Click here for  our page on Barbados' Great Houses
Click here for our page on the beaches of Barbados
Click here for our page on Bathsheba
Click here for information on the cruise port
Click here for our Barbados Links page
Click here for our Barbados overview page
Cruise destination travel guide - Barbados - Barbados Attractions - Gun Hill Signal Station
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