Half Tree Hollow
{{Short description|District of Saint Helena}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Half Tree Hollow
|image_skyline = Half Tree Hollow (16420542656).jpg
|image_flag =
|image_map = Half Tree Hollow in Saint Helena.svg
|pushpin_map =
|subdivision_type = Sovereign state
|subdivision_name = United Kingdom
|subdivision_type1 = Overseas territory
|subdivision_name1 = Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
|subdivision_type2 = Island
|subdivision_name2 = Saint Helena
|subdivision_type3 = Status
|subdivision_name3 = District
|established_title =
|established_date =
|founder =
|named_for =
|population_as_of = 2021
|population_total = 1,034
|area_total_km2 = 1.6
|population_density_km2 = 615
|timezone1 = GMT
|utc_offset1 = +0
}}
Half Tree Hollow is the smallest by area of the eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a suburb of Jamestown and is situated at the top of Ladder Hill, which forms the southern side of the James Valley, at the base of which sits Jamestown. The hill was fortified in the late 1700s, and Ladder Hill Fort was subsequently built. The village grew during the 1960s because the James Valley lacked any room for expansion.
Description
File:Half Tree Hollow viewed from Rupert's Hill in March 2020.jpgThe district is bounded by the contours of Ladder Hill and is essentially a flat plateau.{{cite web|title=Half Tree Hollow|url=http://sainthelenaisland.info/halftreehollow.htm|website=sainthelenaisland.info|accessdate=27 November 2016}}
Half Tree Hollow is the largest settlement in Saint Helena, with a population exceeding that of the territory's capital of Jamestown. Its population has fluctuated from 901 in 1998 to 1,140 in 2008{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Saint_Helena/Saint_Helena.pdf |title=Provisional Results – Population Census 2008 |access-date=25 November 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629183023/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Saint_Helena/Saint_Helena.pdf |archive-date=2014-06-29 }} and 1,034 in 2021.{{cite web|title=St Helena 2021 Population & Housing: Census Summary Report|url=https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Census-2021-Main-Report.pdf|website=Census 2021|publisher=St Helena Statistics Office|accessdate=11 September 2021|page=16}}
History
Ladder Hill was initially known as Fort Hill, even though it was not initially fortified. It was first used by the East India Company as an execution ground with the gibbet visible from Jamestown for the moral edification of the population. The first road to Ladder Hill was completed in 1770, and construction of fortifications on the seaward side of the hill began around 1790. Additional works were built over the next several decades, and the complex was known as Ladder Hill Fort by 1815. The fort was reinforced and expanded while Napoleon was in exile in St. Helena (1815–21), and the 20th Regiment of Foot is known to have been garrisoned there in 1819. Additional barracks and officer's quarters were built during the 1820s.Denholm, pp. 91–94
File:Half Tree Hollow - From Sea.jpgA funicular was built to connect Jamestown and the fort in 1829. The cars and rails were removed in 1871 and it was converted into a staircase, commonly known as Jacob's Ladder.{{cite web|last1=Azéma|first1=Michel|title=(SH) St. Helena – Ladder Hill Railway (1829) |url=http://www.funimag.com/photoblog/index.php/articles/sh-st-helena-ladder-hill-railway/|website=Funimag photoblog|date=16 November 2010|accessdate=27 November 2016}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{cite web|last1=Denholm|first1=Ken|title=South Atlantic Fortress|url=http://shared.moonbeamsforall.com/sthelenasouthatlanticfortresskendenholm2006.pdf|website=Saint Helena Island Info|accessdate=25 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126003253/http://shared.moonbeamsforall.com/sthelenasouthatlanticfortresskendenholm2006.pdf|archive-date=26 November 2016|url-status=dead}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060414021701/http://www.sthelena.se/tour/seaview.jpg A view of Jamestown showing Half Tree Hollow]
{{Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
{{coord |15|56|0|S|5|43|12|W|type:city(901)_region:SH|display=title}}
Category:Districts of Saint Helena
Category:Populated places in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha