Bought Land in 1877, Lost the Church to a Hurricane in 1899, Rebuilt by 1907: Allen Temple AME at 142

• Allen Temple AME Church in Somerset, Bermuda, marked 142 years in 2015
• Its first wooden church went up in 1877 on land bought by two members
• A hurricane destroyed that building in 1899
• Family property was conveyed to the church in 1904 and a new church opened in 1907

Allen Temple AME Church in Somerset, Bermuda, celebrated its 142nd anniversary in July 2015, and the Royal Gazette used the occasion to trace how the congregation built, lost and rebuilt its home.

The congregation began in 1873, meeting in the open air on a cliff near Ely’s Harbour. In 1877, under the Rev W.B. Hill, it moved into a wooden church built on land bought by Nathaniel Ratteray and George Lambert. That building was destroyed by a hurricane in 1899.

The Ratteray family played a central role. Charles Roach Ratteray was described as “a celebrated black boat builder, trader and substantial landowner.” His daughter, Mary Hamilton Ratteray, conveyed family property to the church in 1904. She later married William Horatio Trott, who became the second Black man elected to Bermuda’s House of Assembly.

Rebuilding was led by Dr John W. Cann, and the present church on Sound View Road was dedicated on July 8, 1907. The article also recalled that journalist Ira Philip was honoured in 2003 for promoting the AME Church’s founding principles of self-determination and self-reliance.

Allen Temple’s history mirrors that of many Jamaican congregations founded after emancipation, whose first buildings stood on land bought or given by members and were later lost to storms and rebuilt. The lesson still applies: record who gave the land and on what terms, register it in the church’s name, and plan for rebuilding before the next hurricane. For diaspora members who trace their family story through a home church, keeping those records and helping fund upkeep is a practical way to honour the people who first bought the land.

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