Food Safe, Verdmont
The first electric home refrigerator on the island was the Kelvinator which arrived in 1922. Before the days of electricity, keeping food fresh in Bermuda’s hot and damp climate, with its insect life, was challenging. One solution was the hanging food safe. This one is on display at Verdmont and was used by Miss Lillian Joell, who lived there without piped water or electricity until 1951. It is made of painted wood and encased in wire mesh, allowing a breeze to circulate through it, keeping food cool and flies out. It has a small cup on the chain which was filled with oil to deter ants. Another aid to successful food storage in Bermuda was the buttery, an early architectural feature. Butteries were sometimes partially sunk into the ground, their height and pointed roofs enabling heat to rise. They were also used for food preparation, such as salting meat. One of Bermuda’s best-known butteries at Springfield in Somerset dates from c.1740 and, unusually, has a smooth rather than a tiled roof.