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Current Date: 25 October , 2026
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The BVI Celebrates the 250th Anniversary of Nottingham Estate
by Jane Bakewell
The story of Nottingham Estate is a fascinating chapter in British Virgin Islands History
A cultural fete celebrating the 250 th anniversary of Nottingham Estate, the first free community of African descendants, took place in East End, Long Look in June this year. Marked by a territory-wide holiday, many around the island joined East End residents to commemorate Nottingham Estate’s establishment on June 30, 1776.
A joint initiative between government and the Long Look, East End Heritage Committee headed by Bernadine Louis and Ron Potter, provided a week’s worth of celebration including culture, history, musical performances and dance.
The community of Long Look on the east end of the island, was the hub of activity including a cultural parade, that featured historical costumes and living descendants of family lines dating back to the 18 th century freed slaves. Many surnames of these families such as; Pickering, Lettsome, Malone and Potter, to name just a few, are familiar names to many of us who live here. In fact, twenty family names connected to Nottingham Estate were printed on a line of t-shirts for the commemoration.
The Sticket, as it is historically known, was a central spot in the estate, where communication, cultural events and news reached the community. The name is derived from members of the community “sticking” a note in this open-air gazebo to spread news. The present Long Look sticket was no exception with bands, the Heritage Dancers, the Long Look Methodist Church Brigade and many other performers keeping the celebrations going through out the day and into the evening.
A look back into the history of the formation of this community is a fascinating tale of Quaker religious influence in the islands on the prevailing slave trade. The Quaker’s profound moral considerations outweighed the economic opportunity they may have received from an inhumane labor system.
As history recounts, in the mid 18 th century an Irish man named William Middleton acquired a land grant on Tortola for agriculture.