Existing comment:
The Architecture of Pedro Castle: Looking beyond Cayman:
Pedro Castle was unique on the Cayman Islands, but followed prevalent trends in Caribbean architecture.
As the Cayman Islands' largest historic house, and the first to be built of stone, Pedro Castle has some features of Caribbean great houses but the scale only of a mid-size residence. The external double-staircase and the generous open and louvered verandas, which let in cool breezes, are customary. Pedro Castle is less typical for its ground-level corner rooms, but even they are found in Jamaica and, earlier, in Scottish castles. Eden I's brother-in-law, William Bodden Jr., a stone mason with extensive experience in Jamaica, may have been in charge of building Pedro Castle. Labour was provided by slaves.
Built around 1700, during a period of prolonged unrest in Jamaica, Stokes Hall has four defensible corner towers. The lower level has narrow openings, or embrasures, as at Pedro Castle. This drawing was created around 1900. |