By A. R. D. (Tony) Porter, Contributor
IN THE late 1960s a small group of devoted historians, led by George Lechler, made their way up the hill along an overgrown path towards the site of Fort Small (Fort Clarence). About halfway up the hill they found some unusual grey bricks, each with a six-pointed star imprinted on one side and lying face down in the ground.
PURPOSE
So, why would anyone go to the trouble of making such elaborate bricks? To the best of my knowledge, no authoritative letters, reports or other written documents have yet been found explaining exactly who made these bricks, when, where, and for what purpose! So it is left to historians and others to apply deductive reasoning; and, this may have been the technique adapted by the writer of a one page pamphlet which accompanies small replicas of these bricks sold by Swiss Stores of Kingston, Jamaica.
According to this source, when the British captured Jamaica there was a Portugese bricklayer, by the name of Guitterez, living at St. Jago de la Vega (now known as Spanish Town). It is said that he was a "crypto Jew" or "Marana" who practised "his religion in secret while pretending to be of another faith". Because of his skill he was employed to make "gunnery bricks" using a special variety of "dense clay" from the Spanish Town area.
His bricks facilitated the transport of heavy gun carriages and cannons, which the British used to defend their fortifications. "As a rebellious, deeply religious Jew, Guitterez defiantly immortalised his religion by moulding the Star of David into each brick" and placed this closest to the soil. These bricks the pamphlet states "lay quietly at Fort Augusta for centuries, known only to fishermen until members of the United Congregation of Israelites discovered them in the early 1970s."
This document, however, makes no mention of the bricks found on the flank of the hill leading up to the site of Fort Small at a height of about 180 feet (56 metres) above sea level. For the guns to reach this position some 230 years ago, the British must have used a winch or winching system and pulled them up the slope from the jetty at the base of the hill. To do this would have required a firm base and these elaborate, but carefully crafted, relatively heavy and impermeable bricks, with their beveled edges and compact toughness, must have provided the right traction, stacking and weight bearing properties for such a task. If this interpretation is correct then the use of such bricks at Fort Augusta, which lies at sea level, would hardly have been necessary.
Perhaps the answer to this dilemma lies in the practice of recycling. For example, the construction of Fort Charles in the town of Port Royal, commenced shortly after the British take-over in 1655 and since then has undergone repairs, due mainly to damage caused by the severe earthquakes of 1692 and 1907. This is readily discernible in the floorstone where an assortment of bricks (red and yellow-brown), flagstone (sandstone) and the very fossil-rich Purbeck limestone (from Dorset in south England) form a patchwork in some places. And, to the best of my knowledge, the Star of David brick has never been found at this
fortification.
In reviewing the available information it seems to me that these bricks were not used in the original construction of Fort Augusta, but instead were made specifically to build the winching ramp at Fort Small. Then, at a later date, a large quantity were removed and taken to Fort Augusta by the British to effect repairs. This could explain why so many bricks were missing on the slope leading up to Fort Small at the time of Lechler's visit some
forty-odd years ago!
Another puzzling aspect of these mysterious bricks is their origin. According to the pamphlet, Guitterez "came to Jamaica prior to the British capture of the island in 1655." But, if this is true, he could hardly have been alive, 90 years later, when Fort Augusta was under construction. On the other hand, it is conceivable that he could have made and stockpiled them somewhere safe prior to his death or passed on his skill to someone else.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that these bricks might have been brought to Jamaica as ballast stones on sailing ships and then used in the construction of certain forts. While this remains a possibility it seems highly unlikely as no such ballast bricks have yet been found anywhere else. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that we may never know the full story behind the origin of one of Jamaica's most unique artifacts, but research is still in progress.
A.R.D. (Tony) Porter is
conducting research for a book on Jamaica's geo-heritage. He is an exploration geologist, author and part-time lecturer at the University of the West Indies. email:
ardporter@yahoo.ca.
