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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
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Mrs Karen
Cargill of Kerzner International asked if we had any information on the little
chapel on Club Med grounds on Paradise (Hog) Island. She sent the pictures
seen here to the Bahamas Historical Society.
Charles Stronach who worked on Club Med told me it was built by the Killams of Grey Leath and that it was French. I met Mrs Clap (a former teacher of English at Queen’s College with Roger Kelty) at the airport and she also said that the stones came over when Huntington Hartford built the Cloisters.
Mrs Karen Cargill of Kerzner International asked if we had any information on the little chapel on Club Med grounds on Paradise (Hog) Island. She sent the pictures below:
I researched the following about it and Anne and I will write something in the upcoming 2nd update of the Paradise Island Story.
What is going to happen on the Club Med property?…Barrie Farrington says it is not decided yet.
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Research So Far:
Izaak Walton Killam (July 23, 1885 – August 5, 1955) was one of Canada’s most eminent financiers. Born in Yarmouth Nova Scotia, Killam rose from paper boy in Yarmouth to become one of Canada's wealthiest individuals.
After prohibition Graycliff was the private residence of Canadians Mr. & Mrs. I. Walton Killiam. They summered in Montreal and wintered in Nassau. They completely renovated the mansion and built the swimming pool and tropical gardens next to the pool cottage. After her husband’s death Mrs. Killam stayed on at Graycliff until her death in 1964.
Was Gray Leath Paradise island built by the Killams in the 1930s along with the French Chapel (was it the same stones as the cloisters?)….The pool of Grey Leath was used to film the shark scene in the James Bond movie Thunderball.
Scott Campbell, executive chef of Vince & Eddie's and Fishin Eddie, believes so strongly in the curative and health-promoting properties of garlic that for the past six years he has had a Garlic Festival in August at Vince & Eddie's in New York, creating special recipes for the event.
Taking this garlic interest a step further -- from August 23-30, Chef Scott will test the superstition that garlic keeps ghosts away during his visit as part of Club Med's "Finer Things in Life" celebration at Club Med Paradise Island, Bahamas.
The ghost in question is millionairess Mrs. Killam, the former owner of one of the three elegant estates (Killiam, Mcclory and Sam Clap) that make up the 23-acre Club Med property. Locals have confirmed sightings of Mrs. Killam's ghost floating in the luxuriant estate gardens and the million-dollar swimming pool at Greyleath.
To keep Club Med's ghost away, Chef Scott will demonstrate and provide samplings of a variety of unusual and tasty garlic specialties around the same swimming pool and
manor house during a week of epicurean events. Featured recipes include: Garlic,
Ice Cream; Mexican Scallop
Ceviche
ce·vi·che
or
se·vi·che
n.
Raw
fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as
an appetizer.
[American
Spanish, from Spanish
cebiche
,
fish stew
, from with
Sweet Garlic and Cilantro; Garlic and Scallop Flan with Lobster Tarragon Sauce;
and Roasted Garlic.
On Hog Island is the Porcupine Club, for swanky and exclusive food, drink and bathing. Nearby is also the home of Nassau's greatest dowager, Lady Williams Taylor
1913 Porcupine Club, an elite club for the "very rich," opens on Hog Island. Members would include Andrew Mellon, J.P. Morgan, Howard Hughes and Vincent Astor.
The Cloisters (Excerpt from “The Paradise Island Story” by Paul Albury and updated by Anne and Jim Lawlor
The gardens (at Shangri-la now Ocean Club) are indeed a scene of singular attraction and timeless beauty. Across the roadway from the gardens and up a flight of stone steps stands an interesting structure on the very crest of the hill. This is The Cloister, an edifice of great interest to visitors. A fourteenth-century Augustinian cloister, this structure was purchased in France a number of years ago by the American newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, who had it taken down and brought to Florida where the pieces remained in crates. The lot was subsequently purchased by Hartford who employed J J Castreman, an expert in the recreation of stone structures, to reassemble the cloister on Paradise Island.
To Castreman's astonishment there was not a single written clue as to how the stones were to be put together. Consequently, the reconstruction took a full year. It is a roofless structure with multi-columned sides and many arches which lend grace and beauty to the austere interior. In the centre of The Cloister stands a white marble statue of a meditating madonna. In its original time and place, the cloister had a fountain in the centre, round which monks walked while engaged in prayer. We are unable to say how many people go there to pray or meditate today, but a large number of bridal parties look on The Cloister as a romantic background for the taking of wedding pictures.
Down the other side of the hill, looking across the harbour and on to Nassau is a small Greek gazebo which once stood in the garden of Shangri - La. Hartford had it moved to its present commanding position. It is called a love temple with rounded seats for those who like just to sit and think about the days gone by and the inscrutable future which lies ahead."
More on the Chapel from Godfrey Lightbourn:
Dear Mr. Lawlor,
I welcome the telling of the CLUb Med at PI. as I recall some of facts relating to same.
It was 1976 that Daniel Paterne, Architect, walked into my office (Cavalier Construction) and said that we had been selected to build the Club Med on PI.
The first executive of CM to arrive on site was in charge of landscaping, and he made sure to retain the beautiful landscape.
Grayleath, the home of Mrs..Killham was to be the central building on the seaside. Her sister, Lady Bailey, owned Graycliff on West Hill St, and Harbourside on the harbour. This was taken into the 25 plus acres comprising the CM property, including the Porcupine Club. They also purchased the Clapp property on the north-west boundary. That may have been at a later date.
The Porcupine Club had a totally American Membership except for Mr. Colquhoun who was English. One would not dare to ask the cost of membership, and in fact, at year's end they would determine the annual costs and divy up their respective share. The PC consisted of the remaining building on the harbour to which was added the Animation building. They also had Beach houses on the beach.
Our first estimate was twice what they had expected for the rooms, so we jokingly suggested they reduce the size by half. This they did. At a subsequent renovation they enclosed the balconies to make them larger.
We obviously renovated Grayleath and Harbourside very extensively. I do not recall doing anything to the Chapel.
As you have said, the Cloisters were put together by Mr. Castremann. He had turned up on the door step of Cavalier, having escaped from Leopoldville during the uprising there. He and his partner there had agreed to meet in Nassau. His partner never made it. We took Casteermann in and he lived at our office in Oakes Field initially. He recognized the stone of the cloister and was able to say where it came from. More than a third of the pieces were broken, and he was able to reconstruct them.
More may come to mind in due course, but meantime I hope this contributes a bit to the overall.
An interesting subject. Godfrey Lightbourn
Ron Lightbourn sent us this picture: Jim, following your mention of Club Med in to-day's BHS newsletter, here is a picture I just took from the upper deck of Bo Hengy. Normally you can't see Lady Bailey's house (now part of Club Med) because of the dolphin pens.
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However, we now have information that the chapel was NOT built with French stones from
the Cloister which was not built until 1962.
We had a
very interesting telephone conversation with Roland Rose.
His
father came to the Bahamas with his family to take up the post of Head Gardener
with the Killlams. His parents lived in the small gardner’s cottage but
the children lived in the chapel and occupied 6 beds – Roland slept in
the chapel from 1946 until 1959. He thinks that the chapel was built either just
before or during World War 2. At that time the chapel was in a different
location attached to the shade house plant nursery. Roland remembers that there
were 2 massive copper chandeliers in the chapel, having been purchased from
Trinity Methodist Church on Frederick Street. Sometime after 1959 Mrs Killam
had the chapel moved brick by brick to its present location alongside the house
on the North side.
The
swimming pool was not built until about 1952 or 53 and was not the pool used on
Thunderball. Sean Connery actually faced those sharks on Mosko’s property
Rock Point out west.
Lady
Bailey’s house, The Killam’s house and the Porcupinre Club were all
on the ex Club Med property.
The Bahamas Historical Society (BHS)
is a non-profit organization dedicated to stimulating interest in
Bahamian History and to the collection and preservation of material
relating thereto. Its Headquarters, the former IODE Hall, was a gift
from the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE). BHS is
on Shirley Street and Elizabeth Avenue in Nassau.
www.bahamashistoricalsociety.
com
Don't forget the
Lunch Fashion Show at The Nassau Yacht Club
5th May...Tickets from
Clarice Granger 362-4600 or cgranger@templeton.com
© Copyright 2011 by thebahamasweekly.com
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