The area now known as English Harbour has been a haven in which ships can find protection from storms since 1660 (Nicholson 2002:3). Its first European-built structures appeared in 1725 and the area was decommissioned as a military base in 1895 (NPA 2014). Antigua has many fortifications along its coastlines set up to protect the island from outside invasions. The British had a constant naval presence in the area, but this required a place of upkeep to maintain the fleet. English Harbour was recognized as important for its sheltered, deep bays that were almost enclosed by hills (NPA 2014). The harbor was perfect for providing safe anchorage within an easily defendable geography (NPA 2014). Antigua was purely reliant on imports from neighboring islands, but this was constantly under peril from the wars fought in the Caribbean. To protect its cargo, having naval vessels near the trade routes helped support the local economy (Waters 2018).
Because of the protection it offered as well as its strategic value, English Harbour became a common place for careening and repair (NPA 2014). In 1725, the naval war in the Caribbean required the British to establish bases where ships would be safe to be refitted or repaired (NPA 2014). English Harbour became quite valuable to the British as they waged war in the western world. Over the next two years, the Dockyard, then called St. Helena, was being built. Over the course of the next century the British Government added to the Dockyard whatever building it needed to run efficiently. In 1745, a capstan house, “Pitts” for careening blocks, storehouse, and watch house was added (NPA 2014). In 1895, the Antigua Dockyard was demilitarized due to the expanding use of steamships that it was not fit to repair (NPA 2014).
Today, the Dockyard is no longer a military base, but a tourist destination frequented by cruise ship passengers and the yachting community. Numerous travelers enter the Dockyard daily to learn about how giant ships once anchored in the surrounding bays waiting their turn to be refitted before returning to the ever-present war outside its protected waters.