Seychelles’ historic jewel

By LYDIA LIMBE

Kenwyn House, in Seychelles’ capital, Mahe, has been the press centre for international journalists since the inception of the International Carnival in 2011.

It looks well kept and prim, having been renovated in 2003.

Kenwyn House, located in Mahe’s Victoria area, was built in 1855 by the French colonisers and was declared a national monument in 1984 by the Seychelles after the National Monument Act was enacted.

The first person to live in the house was the chief medical officer at the time — Dr James Henry Brooks, who was the chief medical surgeon as well as the German consulate to the Seychelles from 1858-1879 (he died in 1920 at age 89).

In 1878, Cable & Wireless (formerly the Eastern Telegraphic Company) purchased the Kenwyn House from Dr Brooks. The chief engineers for Cable & Wireless resided in Kenwyn House while they were here setting up global communications for the Seychelles.

There is a general consensus that Cable & Wireless (C&W) were the ones to give the house the name “Kenwyn House” — named after a village in Cornwall. (Cornwall incidentally was the area where the underwater telegraph cables to the Seychelles came from).

Towards the end of the 20th century, C&W used Kenwyn House as a residence for their general managers.

In 2003, the company Flawless Ltd decided to restore Kenwyn House to its former glory. The infrastructure of the house remains as it was over 150 years ago.

Unfortunately, much of the interior timber had to be replaced but the floorboards, ceiling beams and entrance doors are all original.

Some of the furniture inside the house is over 180 years old. The renovation took over 12 months to complete.

National monument

In 1984, as per the National Monuments Act, Kenwyn House was declared a national monument of the Seychelles.

Flawless Ltd now occupies the Kenwyn House, using it as a showcase for their precious gems and unique diamond jewellery designs.

The house is one of the most photographed buildings in Victoria and is the “jewel of the Seychelles”, according to the building’s website.

Though it has a rich history, it looked like the journalists who were here were more interested in cooling themselves off from the humid heat, Kenwyn House being the place set aside by the Seychelles Tourist Board for refreshments as they record the performances of the carnival parade.

It is right outside the Kenwyn house that the carnival parade is officially launched, with President James Alix Michael and the Minister for Tourism Alain St Ange seated right opposite it.

Apart from the jewellery designed in Seychelles being displayed, it is also displays art by several Seychellois artists, among them Michael Adams, George Camille, Alyssa Adams, Nigel Henri, Egbert Marday, Georges Boniface and Evelyn Fanchette.

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