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My name is Willoughby Fort. You cannot see me right now, because I existed here a long, long time ago, just like my cousin, James Fort, who lived across from me. My modern-day military colleagues, the Barbados Coast Guard, now live here, and they keep my name alive. Their modern boats and military procedures have replaced my soldiers, platform, and cannon. I was named after my namesake, Lord Willoughby. I once stood on the site of the old baggage house, and I was constructed in 1656, on the then known little island. It cost William Whittington 80,000 pounds of sugar to build me.
My cousin, Mr. James Fort, stood on the north side of the mouth of the Constitution River. A modern car park, where Carlisle House now rests, replaces me. But if I take you back to 1651, during my lifetime, there was no Molehead, like what my spirit now sees. But instead, the might of my heavy cannons stood strong, giving an excellent field of fire southwards and for that matter, southeastwards, over the inner reaches of Carlisle Bay, to the southwest. I was situated in a prime position to fire against enemy ships sailing in from the west. I was loved so much by Mr. Morris B. Hutt that he could not resist but to write an article about me in the Barbados Advocate of 1983.
Rodney Ifill’s museum background and great personal appreciation for Barbados’ heritage sites inspired him to create two separate historically-based soundscapes for the whisperpost project. He selected the former Fort Willoughby fortification (the current home of the Barbados Coast Guard headquarters) and the Masonic Lodge, situated on Spry Street (currently owned by the Central Bank of Barbados, Tom Adams Financial Centre). He states that he chose these sites because he has “always had a particular… interest in Fraternalism and the Order” and is also “very fond of the military fortifications of Barbados.” In 2000 – 2002, during his internship at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, he was given the opportunity to research the military fortifications of Barbados for the Organization of the Wider Caribbean on Monuments and Sites (CARIMOS), an organization created in 1982 to encourage preservation works and to make known the cultural heritage of the Caribbean region. This research proved useful in the creation of his soundscapes.
A painter and cartoonist, Rodney Ifill is currently Cultural Officer with responsibility for the Visual Arts at the National Cultural Foundation in Barbados. He coordinates the NIFCA and Crop Over National Art Exhibitions as well as performing a key role with Cultural Developmental programs. He holds an Associate degree in Applied Arts / Art Education from the Barbados Community College along with a Certificate in Museum Studies from the Commonwealth Museums Association, Canada. He is also Vice-President of Barbados’ ICOM Committee, a museum and heritage organization.
