A Derelict Church Rectory Becomes a Home for Eight: Bermuda’s Anglican Church Partners on Mental Health Housing

• The former St James Rectory in Somerset, Bermuda, has been converted into a residential treatment home
• The Anglican Church, which owns the building, partnered with Habitat for Humanity and the hospitals board
• Bridge House can accommodate up to eight residents
• Planning approvals for the listed building delayed its opening

A disused Anglican rectory in Bermuda has been given a new purpose as a home for people living with mental illness. The Royal Gazette reported on 21 December 2024 that Bridge House, the former St James Rectory by Somerset Bridge, had received its certificate of occupancy on Wednesday 18 December, with residents expected to move in after the holidays.

The derelict building was renovated through a partnership between the Anglican Church, which owns it, Habitat for Humanity and the Bermuda Hospitals Board. It will serve as a residential treatment centre for patients of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, the island’s psychiatric hospital, and can accommodate up to eight residents.

A hospitals board spokeswoman described the church as “our partners in the project and the building owners,” adding that the church had held a forum the previous year to answer questions from neighbours.

The work was completed in June 2024, but the opening was delayed. Sheelagh Cooper, chair of Habitat for Humanity’s board, said: “Sadly, the home was substantially complete a couple of months ago but, as is often the case with listed buildings, planning approvals can be very protracted — so this is great news.” No cost figures were given.

The project is a good example of how church property that has outlived its original use can meet a pressing social need. Rather than selling the rectory or letting it decay, the church kept ownership and worked with partners to convert it into supported housing.

Jamaica’s churches own many manses, rectories and mission houses that stand empty or underused, while demand for supported housing for the elderly, the homeless and people with mental illness keeps growing. The Bermuda model, in which a church retains the title while charities and health authorities handle renovation and care, is one Jamaican denominations could explore, provided they consult neighbours early and allow for the time planning approvals take on older buildings.

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