Water Cistern
Antigua was prone to multi-year droughts. To provide water to the population, the British constructed an elaborate water system, a combination of connected ponds, dams, reservoirs and catchments. Cisterns were commonly used to collect rain water and almost every large house built in the 18th and 19th centuries had such a cistern nearby. This is one of the few remaining traditional brick versions, typical of the large cisterns at that time.
This photo, from 2021, shows the brickwork on the cistern.
The water system that the Colonial authorities developed brought water from springs in the area of Fig Tree Hill and Bendals to a reservoir on Grays Hills that fed the city. This map, front 1923, shows how elaborate the system was.
Although the wealthier residents had cisterns, the less wealthy had to depend on standpipes scattered throughout the city. This photo, from about 1920, shows water being distributed in town during a water shortage.
