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The old Christianburg Magistrates’ Court: remembering what once was
The old Christianburg Courthouse, which was destroyed by fire in April 2011
By Sunita Samaroo
There once was a huge house which stood just off the left bank of the Demerara River. Those who are familiar with its story know it was a direct link to the country’s colourful but cruel plantation history.
You see, the old Christianburg Magistrates’ Court was formerly the residence of Government contractor, John Dalgleish Paterson, who ventured to these shores in 1803. After settling here, Paterson built a large house on the plantation which the British Guiana government later used for court proceedings.
For some, Linden, a municipality with one of the richest historical backgrounds in Guyana, started off with American geologist George Bain Mackenzie, who kicked off the bauxite mining industry. However, there was life before Mackenzie. In fact, rich bauxite deposits were discovered in Christianburg long before Mackenzie’s arrival in 1914.
Though, in the beginning Christianburg was merely a sugar plantation, it is now regarded as the true genesis of Linden. In fact, the establishment of this community dates back to the days of Dutch occupancy.
Paterson, the plantation owner had landed on these shores over 100 years before Mackenzie and had acquired Plantation Christianburg, once used for sugar, and had instead focused on the woodcutting business.
At ‘Three Fields,’ he built a mansion nearby, close to the river which became a guesthouse for visitors of the early settlement. That edifice was reportedly one of the largest houses constructed in British Guiana during the 1830s.
When Paterson died in 1842, the British Guiana Government took over his plantation and that house later served as the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court.
The building, which originally served as the residence of a wealthy logging family, had really stood the test of time.
Its structure had been modified to accommodate the proceedings of the Court, but many of its architectural features such as the brick columns, wooden jalousie windows and timber shutters were kept.
The old Christianburg Magistrate’s Court served its years as one of the famous landmarks in Linden and some may remember that there was a long stelling in front of the courthouse as well as two cannons.
It is told that Paterson sounded these cannons when many of his friends and business partners visited him.
In his book, Twenty-Five Years in British Guiana (1872 – 1897), Henry Kirke, a Dutchman who was the Sheriff for the Demerara area, recalled visiting Paterson’s great house. Kirke expressed astonishment at the house which he described as “one of the best built in the colony.”
Today, most of the stelling, the cannons and the house are long gone but the nearby waterwheel still remains as a solitary monument to the past.
The Patersons’ great house of the 1800s
Unfortunately, this court, a noteworthy part of our history, was destroyed by fire.
The existence of the Patersons’ 208-year-old great house was ended an early morning conflagration on April 12, 2011. The fire had reduced an important part of the Upper Demerara River community’s rich history to nothing but ashes and memories.
Apart from the court proceedings, which were conducted weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the bottom flat, the edifice had also housed offices of the Regional Probation Department and the Linden Legal Aid Centre upstairs.
Once located in Section ‘C’ Christianburg, it was at one time the only Magistrate’s Court in Linden. It is now, however, replaced by the old Linden Magistrate’s Court on Burnham Drive, Linden.
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