Government House Restored and Museum Opens to Public After Decade-long Heritage Project

After years of pleading for funds to fix leaking roofs and unstable floors, Government House stands renewed as Governor General Sir Rodney Williams on Friday officially unveiled the newly restored Main House and Government House Museum.

The launch closed a chapter of restoration work that began in 2014 and now delivers a living heritage site.
The ceremony drew members of the diplomatic corps, donors, directors of the Antigua and Barbuda Heritage Trust, senior public servants and friends of the estate.

Sir Molwyn Joseph received the key to the restored Main House on behalf of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Cabinet colleagues with Government House this year designated a National Heritage Site.

“Today is a day of profound gratitude, national pride, and historic meaning,” Sir Rodney, who serves as President of the Heritage Trust, told guests.

He described the occasion as a moment of “presentation, of thanksgiving, and of transition,” and said the Trust, incorporated in 2018 and authorised by Cabinet to oversee the restoration, has now fulfilled its major infrastructural mandate.

Sir Rodney thanked several donors including former Ambassador Walid Issa Taha, Calvin Ayre Foundation, Sir David Harrison, Hadeed Group of Companies and Caribbean Alliance.

The Governor General also acknowledged the monthly in-person site visits made since 2023 by Director Janey Howell, who holds responsibility for project management, and Director Dr Gabriella Howell, Director for Historic Conservation and Museum Development, both of whom worked in a voluntary capacity alongside daily virtual oversight.

Dr Howell prepared the Board-approved Museum Staff Handbook, Museum Catalogue, and Living Master Plan for the long-term future of Government House.

The museum, located within the Main House, traces Antigua and Barbuda’s national identity from the beginning of British rule in 1632 through emancipation in 1834, independence in 1981, and the present day.

Dr Howell said the museum does not duplicate work already done at sites such as the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, Betty’s Hope, Nelson’s Dockyard, Clarence House and Shirley Heights, but connects those histories specifically to Government House and the role of its governors.

A team of historians including Dr Susan Lowes, Dr Natasha Lightfoot, Dr Reg Murphy and Dr Chris Waters contributed research to the content.

Among the loans to the museum is the Benedict Queen collection, a private collection of art depicting Antigua and Barbuda from the late 1600s to the 1800s, loaned by Judge Nancy Underhill.

A dedicated exhibition of the full collection is planned for 2027.

Dr Howell also referenced new work to recover the names of servicemen and women from Antigua and Barbuda who served in the First and Second World Wars, noting that unlike Barbados and Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda had not preserved its own regimental lists.

Sir Rodney said the remaining major element of the project, the gardens, is expected to be completed in time for the country’s 45th Independence Anniversary in November.