24{ BLUEWATERADVENTURE }
Plantation House, built in 1792.
Another 18th century property,
originally a farm, “Longwood” was
Napoleon’s residence of incarcera-
tion, where he lived out the rest
of his life after his imperial and
military ambitions in Europe
ended in disaster at the hands of
the British and allies. His ultimate
punishment: permanent exile to
the most remote and inaccessible
place those enemies could think of.
The rear of the estate holds a
residential complex. Napoleon had
his own personal staff who lived on
site. The location of the property
is isolated even on Saint Helena,
and was considered difficult for an
escape or rescue.
Back at the northern coast but
above town on the western valley
side, Jacob’s Ladder was built origi-
nally as a funicular rail, serving
Ladder Hill Fort in the early 19th
century. But the rails and cars were
later removed while the staircase
remains. It is now a shortcut to the
new suburb of Half Tree Hollow at
the south side of James Valley. Its
699 steps have been run up in a re-cord five minutes and 17 seconds,
but a little more time invested
prevents a heart attack and allows
sightseeing.
Ladder Hill Fort is now called
home for some local residents, most-
ly government employees. Much of
Saint Helena’s development over the
centuries revolved around military
defense construction.FORTIFICATIONS
Over a dozen or so batteries,
forts and other defensive structures
were built around the island duringits early history, mostly to defend
against the French. Munden’s Bat-
tery, built into the cliffside north
of James Bay, grew from its birth
as a two-gun emplacement in the
17 th century into a more modern
installation during the world wars.
First and second world war
gun emplacements are much in
evidence on either side of James-
town. There remain two six-inch
caliber types, installed in 1903, fea-
turing a maximum range of 25,000
yards. They served as the island’s
coastal defense for half a century,The 699 steps of Jacob's Ladder