The Valley has few examples of colonial architecture due to the relocation of Anguilla's administration to St. Kitts in 1825, though Wallblake House, built in 1787, still stands and is used as a rectory by the adjacent church. New shops have opened in new buildings and renovated West Indian-style cottages. Old shops have been modernized and have enlarged their stocks as well as their space.
The Historic District, in the lower valley, has attractive private dwellings and well-maintained originals those restored in the old style. Miss Marjorie Hodge’s Homestead is one of the most photographed wooden dwellings on the island. The Warden’s Place was once the home of British agents. In a state of disrepair until 1985 when the Gumbs family began its restoration, the green two-story wood and stone house is now home to the elegant Koal Keel Restaurant, which still uses the oven in the garden for baking.
A short walk away are the ruins of the Old Court House on Crocus Hill, the island’s highest point. All that remains are the broken walls of a few basement jail cells. At Cross Roads at the western edge of The Valley is Wallblake House, a plantation home built around 1787 that is now owned by the Catholic church (the parish priest lives there) and St. Gerard’s Catholic Church, with its highly original facade of pebbles, stones, cement, wood and tile.
More significant buildings can be seen on
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