The Mission House

The Mission House stands in Bodden Town, which was the capital of the Cayman Islands before George Town took over, and it is a two-storey timber and wattle-and-daub house dating in part from the 1840s, occupied over the years by missionaries, teachers and families. The National Trust restored it in the 2000s using traditional methods and materials, and it is furnished to show how a Caymanian household of the period actually lived: the cook room separate from the house because of fire, the cistern, the sand yard raked smooth. Archaeological work in the grounds turned up material going back to the earliest settlement.

What you actually see

• The restored house - timber and wattle-and-daub, rebuilt traditionally.
• The separate cook room - kept away from the house against fire.
• The sand yard - raked smooth, as Caymanian yards were kept.
• The archaeology - finds from the grounds in the display.

When to go

November to May is the driest. Opening hours are limited and it closes at weekends in some periods, so check with the National Trust. It takes about an hour.

Honest expectations

It is small and takes an hour. Hours are limited and it has closed for periods. Most of the fabric is restoration rather than original. Bodden Town around it is a residential settlement with little else for visitors.

Nearby

Pedro St James is fifteen minutes west; Meagre Bay Pond is nearby.