Trinidad. Valley of St Anne from Belmont

An early view of the valley of St Ann's in Trinidad, taken from the British Government House at Belmont Hill. The first British Governor's residence at Belmont Hill was a plantation house acquired in 1803: 'The ‘new’ Government House was described by Governor Hislop, Picton’s successor [in 1804], as “a hut, neither-nor rainproof, and much decayed.” ... Sir Ralph Woodford became Governor of the colony in 1813. With great reluctance he continued to live at Belmont Hill, where he found that “there being scarcely a dry spot during heavy rain.” In 1818, negotiations were opened with Henri Peschier for a property of over 200 acres at Saint Ann, which was eventually purchased for £9,160 Sterling. The new Government House was completed in August of 1820. The building was situated a little in front of what is now President’s House. It continued in use as the official residence for ten Governors until in 1867 it was destroyed by fire.' (G.A. Besson, 'President’s House, or The Ups and Downs of Trinidad & Tobago’s Official Mansions' in The Caribbean History Archives, 30 May 2018).
The present watercolour probably depicts the new residence completed in August 1820. The building was drawn by Lieut. Richard Bridgens in the 1830s, his lithograph plate 6 ('St. Ann's, the Governor's Residence. Sketched from nature... '), in Bridgens's West India Scenery published in 1836, and by Michel Jean Cazabon, his lithograph plate 8 ('The Governor's Residence – St Ann's') in Cazabon's Views of Trinidad published in 1851. The title is in a hand closely similar to Cazabon's, to whom the sheet was previously attributed.