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History


The Old Fort Bay Club was built by the British in the 1700s, during a lawless period when the Crown spent enormous time and energy trying to keep pirates, privateers and buccaneers under control in this part of the world.

 

Early 1700's

Once a pirate stronghold, the fort passed hands back and forth with Spain before its ultimate capture by the British. Perched on a ridge high above the beach yet hidden from the sea by silk cotton and coconut palm trees, the fort commands a stunning view of Charlotteville Bay, where pirates once delivered loot to the fort through an underground passage.

1800's

Sisal surrounded the fort during most of the 1800s, when the property was used primarily as a plantation. The original building consisted of one large room on the ground floor with two towers, one on either corner overlooking the sea. A room on the second floor with a low sloping roof and dormer windows was connected to a room in each tower.

1920's

The Old Fort entered into a glamorous era when American James Cox Brady won the property in a card game. Although Brady died soon after, his widow remarried a character named Suydam Cutting and the couple were famous world travelers. The first Western woman to visit Tibet, Mrs. Cutting received a pair of Llasa Apsos from the Dalai Lama. When back in the Bahamas, Mrs. Cutting entertained under Tibetan tents with servants in Indian madras uniforms. The fort remains the architectural beneficiary of these great adventures, with decor featuring tiles from Portugal and Holland and ornamental metalwork and lanterns from Spain.

2002 to Present

After a meticulous renovation, the Old Fort was reborn as a clubhouse that lovingly celebrates its storied past. A cannon sits proudly on a manicured lawn, and guests relax amid amenities from the four corners of the world.