About
Type:
Parish: St. Mary’s
Founding date:
Long, lat: ,
Current Status
This is in a remote area, and to date (2023) have been unable to access the site.
Estate Related History/Timeline
Windy Hill is close to the border of St Mary’s and St. Paul’s parish in the southern part of the island. Caribbeana 1804, Reverend Alexander Brodie, son of Alexander Brodie of Antigua, conveyed to Robert McNish and John Troup as trustees to sell the plantation “of 125 acres in the parishes of St. Paul and St. Mary and 80 slaves”.
The 1775 Baker map shows the plantation in the same location to be named Codrington’s. The 1788 Luffman map shows it as Windy Hill and owned by Alexander Brodie. A letter from one of the Codrington family sent to the Codrington Office in England in 1773 states that he has sold the estate of 330 acres known as Folly’s or The Mountain but did not say to whom. This shows that the plantation was purchased by Alexander Brodie from the Codringtons sometime between 1775 and 1778. However, Folly’s is shown as a separate estate to the north of Windy Hill on both the Luffman and Baker maps. A 1770 map in the Museum shows a plantation called Folly’s Mill, while a 1787 map in the English Harbour Museum shows the same property as Windy Hills. It is possible that the two estates merged, growing from 125 acres to 330 acres. Folly was also a popular name for a plantation at that time. A 1935 Alex Camacho map shows an estate in roughly the same location but in St Paul’s parish close to the border of St Mary’s, as Brodies – Howard plantation to the south and Richmond’s to the northeast.
Alexander Brodie (1738-1800) was disinherited and traveled to the West Indies, where he named his estate Windy Hills after the family home in Scotland, founded by patriarch John Brodie (d.1672). Records in the East Sussex Record Office in Lewes in the UK give an account by Robert Brodie in which he investigated the history of Alexander Brodie and Windy Hills in Antigua. He states that Alexander Brodie opened a store in St. John’s at Newgate and Popeshead Streets, which occupied approximately a quarter of a block. A 1770 map of St John’s in the Museum attests to this.
The 1817 register, in which Robert McNish Sr registered 64 enslaved people while he was attorney for Rev. Dr. Alexander Brodie, carried no estate name, but the father of Rev. Brodie was Alexander Brodie of Windy Hills. The link has been confirmed by an enslaved man, John Carter (b.1805/6), who was on the list in 1817 and again in the 1821 return.
The enslaved people were moved or merged with those on the Murray (later Belmont) estate between 1821 and 1824. In the 1824 return, T71/248, a note on page 206 says of the previous return, “199 returned by Meade Home Daniel proprietor in two separate returns, one being for ‘Murray’ and the other for ‘Windy Hill’ but the whole as present being attached, the estate now called ‘Belmont’ (#19) are included in this.”
The 1823 will of Rev. Alexander Brodie, clerk, Director of Divinity of Eastbourne, was proved on May 5, 1828. It is short and simple, leaving everything to his wife, Anna, his sole executrix. There is no mention of property or enslaved people in Antigua. Alexander Brodie, son of Alexander Brodie of London, matriculated at Trinity Oxford in 1794, aged 20, and became ‘B and D.D.’ in 1811. Anna Brodie, who died in Eastbourne in 1884, apparently left 25,000 pounds and was the widow of the clergyman of Eastbourne.
The local history of Fernhill House, Woodbridge, Isle of Weight, suggests Alexander Brodie had been born in Antigua, became Chaplain to George IV, and married Anna Walter, the daughter of John Walter, the founder of the Times (originally the Daily Universal Register). Their son, Frederick, purchased Fernhill House in 1880. Anna Walter inherited a fractional share in The Times and was periodically assailed by William Cobbett, including as defendant, in a libel suit brought by Corbett. She also was identified by Feargus O’Connor in 1843 as the registered proprietress of the paper. The Brodie family was instrumental in the development of Eastbourne, especially in the establishment and building of schools.
Landed Gentry Under Brooks of Eastbourne. “The late Alexander Brodie, D.D. of The Gore, Eastbourne, son of Alexander Brodie of Windy Hill, Antigua, by Anna his wife, a descendent of Richard Kidder, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and grandson of Alexander Brodie of Windy Hills (now Milton), near Forrest, Scotland, was chaplain to George IV when Prince of Wales and Vicar of the parish of Eastbourne, Sussex, 7 March 1773 at St. John’s, Antigua”.
The Rev. A. Brodie was connected with McNish/Allen’s (#48); he was married in 1802 to the daughter of John W. Esq of Teddington. Alexander, son of Alexander Brodie of London, Gent, matriculated from Trinity College, Oxford, 10 Feb. 1794, B.A. 1707, M.A.1801, B and D.D. 1811.
Alexander Brodie also appears as an attorney for several estates in 1786, including “John Long and Lidia, his wife constitute Robert McNish of Antigua.” His daughter Mary Married Robert McNish in 1796. History of the Island of Antigua by Vere Oliver, Volume III.
Julia Henderson, in researching her family history, spent a day in Dublin looking at the Sweetman papers in the National Library there, where there are a number of surviving letters from Reverend Alexander Brodie to his sister, which mention his estate in Antigua and his problems with it.
1803 – “ I am certain that my father’s debts have been nearly collected, but what Mr. Troup has done with the monies I cannot say. I shall still further surprise you by telling you that since I left Antigua I have not been informed what Quantity of Sugars & Rum my Estate has made since I left it. I have written for a statement of all accounts, but have not yet been favoured with anything satisfactory on my account which has determined me to leave England in the latter end of the year to look after what I left behind.”
1805 – “the anxiety of leaving Mrs Brodie and Child … was so great as to prevent me from being so comfortable as I could wish … On my arrival in Antigua the first thing that I heard was, that I was in debt to Mr. Troup, with which I was no little surprised, but when I came to investigate the matter I found that his Books and mine differed widely in respect to monies committed to his care, and that instead of my owing him money, I proved him considerably in my debt. – He has received of your Father’s Estate debts to the Amount of 1062 pounds currency, of my debts and Rum from the Estate to the Amount of 3000 pounds, and a Bond account – of upwards of 3000 pounds. You need not be astonished how much I was surprised to hear that these Sums were expended and I still in debt. What the Estate in debt? A property whose expenses never any one year exceeded 1000 pounds, should in less than 4 year expend upwards of 7000 pounds. Impossible – what moderate charges do you suppose he passed to the Estate; one out of many was, in respect to Corn, with monies of mine in his hand he goes to market, buys corn at 9/- per bushel and charges me 16/- and 18/- per bushel, a number of other charges he can produce no vouchers or receipts for, what say you to this, no wonder the expenses of that Estate are nearly double since I left this Country. In respect to monies received some large Sums are not credited in my Books which appear very suspicious with many other transactions for his sake I will drop for ever. I am determined not to leave this Country until I have closed the whole concern to my satisfaction.”
1816 – From his nephew Malachy O” Connor to Reverend Brodie.
“I forgot to mention one of my dislikes to a W(est) India property – that is – the neglected state of the religion & morals of the Eng(lish) W(est) Ind(ian) slaves – as to the state of Slavery itself – provided attention is given to their religion & morals I think it is a suitable one for a great part of the whites as well as for the Blacks – I have long thought that a very large part of the humankind know not how to conduct themselves & require to be under perpetual Tutelage – always providing that the Tutelage be mild – & that care be taken to emancipate such as are of extraordinary attributes.”
Enslaved People’s History
UCL Legacies of Slave Ownership database (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/estate/view/12441 ) states:
1817 (EA) -1817 (LA) – Owner Rev Dr. Alexander Brodie.
1821 (EA) – 1821 (KA) – Owner Meade Home Daniell.
Ownership Chronology
1770 & prior – Codringtons
1775 Alexander Brodie b.1738 d.1800
1800. Rev. Dr. Alexander Brodie b.1773-1828
1821 Meade Home Daniel
1933. Daniel Williams.