Black Watch Pipe Band To Mark 1848 Outbreak

October 20, 2015

An unusual event on Thursday morning [Oct 22] may be seen by residents and passers-by in the area of Black Watch Pass and North Shore Road.

One of the world’s most famous Pipe Bands will emerge from Black Watch Pass to where a well dug by members of their military unit to provide help during a disastrous 1848 fever outbreak will be rededicated.

Blackwatch Pass 09 Sept 2015

The Black Watch Regiment — now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland as its 3rd Battalion — was based in Bermuda when a Yellow Fever epidemic broke out. Members of the Regiment, among other fever relief activities, dug a well by today’s Ducking Stool Park on the North Shore.

It became known as the Black Watch Well and the nearby Pass through Mount Langton took its name from the Well and its military builders, when it was constructed in the 1930s.

The Well has not been in use for many years and its later status as a historic site also fell away as traffic flows made it difficult to visit and the Well’s remains began to show signs of neglect.

The construction of the new roundabout nearby will reopen easier pedestrian access to the Well, which has been restored and its surroundings re-landscaped.

The visit of the Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch, as participants in this week’s Bermuda Tattoo marking the 50th anniversary of the [now Royal] Bermuda Regiment, is an opportunity for the Regiment to reconnect with its Bermuda past.

The short ceremony will take place at 9.45 am on Thursday.

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Category: All, History, News

Comments (20)

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  1. inconvenient truth says:

    nice.

  2. Mike says:

    It really is not a round about. It’s a junction. Time will tell if it is a safe alternative to the previous layout.

    • Herb says:

      It isnt finished yet the roundabout is actually across the road somewhat

  3. engineering? says:

    That’s not it. It can’t be finished. It’s current state is nothing like what the plans suggested. The now new 90 degree right angle to go up to Langton Hill is worse, especially for large trucks if coming from the East Side. This can’t be the final product that we’ve been waiting all summer for.

    • Herb says:

      no it is not finished, the roundabout is on the other side of the road.

  4. enough says:

    that is so cool, a bit of Bermuda History I had never heard of.

  5. What they have done there is a nightmare. Traffic coming from Langton Hill to go into town have to come all the way out to north shore, wait for traffic to ease and then turn into a narrow lane that one has to give way to traffic to go into town. I have had several near mishaps by others who are just as confused. I was told by some of the workers there it is not finished and that the other side of the road is to be utilized and made into a round about. ???????? Needs to be redesigned.

    • Terry says:

      Oh ****.
      You lost 16 seconds of your time.
      Be Quiet

      • Cousin J says:

        @ Terry. You obviously don’t live in the area!!! It’s not about time but lives that matter should there be an accident.

        • Terry says:

          How many fatal accidents happened there in the las t ….say ten years.
          You talk garbage.

          • Izzypop says:

            None that I recall

          • cole says:

            Terry you are a fool. The new design is absurd. A guarantee that busses will hit when crossing each other about 100 ft into the black watch road. Also the new sidewalk is irrationally placed and makes people wander around the long curve of the road or cut a shorter path across the lawn. There will be a muddy path cutting past the well within a week.

          • Plenty. I have come out and assisted many a time along with other residents. Again you obviously don’t live in OUR neighborhood.

  6. somuchless says:

    Yeah. I was also told that the current set up is temporary and there will be a round a bout coming.

    They need to hurry up cause the temp set up is worse than it was before.

    • Terry says:

      Oh No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Moan.

    • Terry says:

      If memory serves me they have been working on this for sometime.
      And your point is what,…..

  7. Tom Cooke says:

    I for one will try and be there… cool as hell…
    And what ever they put there will be an improvement. ..

  8. Phillip says:

    1 year from today folks would forget this change.

  9. Mark Orchard says:

    I think this is some cool real-life history … ‘Live on North Shore”. I will be there to celebrate this re-dedication. Fantastic.

  10. cole says:

    The construction crew are using a vibration compactor at 730am and disrupting the whole neighborhood. Its shaking our house 100 yards away. Absurd they rush now after ditzing along for the last year.