Who was Harry Bourne Darling and why was he referred to as the Squire of Princes Town?

- Author : Angelo Bissessarsingh
There are good men and there are great men. Unfortunately, these are often the first to be cast aside, they whose memories and the works with which they benefitted humanity. In his long and prosperous lifetime, Harry Bourne Darling of Lothians Estate near Princes Town did more for the colony than many since. Born in Dublin Ireland around 1813, little is known of Darling’s origins save that by 1840 he was working at Les Efforts Estate, near San Fernando. Darling saved and was able to acquire the extensive Lothians estate near the old Spanish Mission of Savanna Grande, an area known for its pastoral beauty and rolling hills.Following the example of Eccles, Darling opened at his own expense, a school for the Indian children of his estate, breaking with the norm of other estate owners in putting the children to work in the weeding gangs of the estate. This was a full five years or so before the arrival of Rev. John Morton in 1868 and the commencement of the Presbyterian Canadian Mission to the Indians (CMI). Darling, through the Anglican church , sent to India a catechist who could teach and relate to the Indians. The school was described thus in 1864:
“Whilst this good work was going on in the North of the Island, in the South Mr. Darling was working in the same direction by the maintenance on his Estate of an Indian School for Coolie Children, to which he has recently added a Catechist from India for the instruction of the adults. Most affecting is it to hear the little Hindoo children, whose ordinary language is still that of their native land, rehearse distinctly their little hymns in English, with verses from the Holy Scripture, or answer simple questions in Bible History, or on Christian truth, or repeat in their own language the Christian Creed and the prayer of our Lord. The Lothians School has 24 schoolars of whom 21 are Hindoo.”
Such were the good works of Darling, that he was known as the ‘Squire’ of Savanna Grande, being a man famous for his deep sense of charity, humanity and goodwill. This was the exception rather than the norm among the Naparima sugar planters and really made him a legend in his own time. His home and its grounds were an example of tropic elegance and entertained many a distinguished guest. In 1869, the English writer, Charles Kingsley and his friend, Governor Sir Arthur Gordon visited Savana Grande via the Cipero Tramroad and overnighted with Darling. Kingsley was immediately taken with his gracious host and his magnificent abode and wrote flatteringly of him.
In a time when harsh managers, owners and overseers dominated, Darling was a gentleman and father to all. Usually when devastating fires swept the pre-harvest canefields of the Naparimas, the estates which suffered the most were those with brutal management …..labourers would make half-hearted attempts to save the crop or none at all, caring nought if the estate went bankrupt, one master being as bad as another . Not a few of these fires were maliciously set to ruin hard-hearted managers. Darling’s kindness was well repaid when in 1868 forest fires raged on Lothians Estate all hands were on deck in a valiant but futile attempt at saving what the master had taken so long to build. Kingsley recounts the story thus:
“And only the summer before all had been well-nigh swept away again. During the great drought the fire had raged about the woods. Estate after estate around had been reduced to ashes. And one day our host's turn came. The fire burst out of the woods at three different points. All worked with a will to stop it by cutting traces. But the wind was wild ; burning masses from the tree-tops were hurled far among the canes, and all was lost. The canes burnt like shavings, exploding with a perpetual crackle at each joint. In a few hours the whole estate, works, Coolie barracks, Negro huts, was black ash ; and the house only, by extreme exertion, saved. But the ground had scarcely cooled when replanting and rebuilding commenced; and now the canes were from ten to twelve feet high, the works nearly ready for the coming croptime, and no sign of the fire was left, save a few leaflesstrees, which we found, on riding up to them, to be charred at the base. And yet men say that the Englishman loses his energy in a tropic climate.”
Rebuild they did, and when Kingsley and Governor Gordon sojourned with Darling, they had another touching example of the Squire’s paternal affection which is described as follows:
“We had a charming Sunday there, amid charming society, down even to the dogs and cats ; and not the least charming object among many was little Franky, the Coolie butler's child, who ran in and out with the dogs, gay in his little cotton shirt, and melon-shaped cap, and silver bracelets, and climbed on the Squire's knee, and nestled in his bosom, and played with his seals ; and looked up trustingly into our faces with great soft eyes, like a little brown guazu-pita fawn out of the forest. A happy child, and in a happy place”
The following day, Kinglsey and Governor Gordon rode into the village and met with the masses. Darling was also a benefactor of the Canadian Mission to the Indians , giving to Rev. John Morton, both lands and money for the establishment of a manse, chapel and school at Savana Grande, which is now known as St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. In 1880, Darling hosted royalty, and that of the finest, when the two grandsons of Queen Victoria , Princes Albert and George (later King George V) visited Trinidad as midshipmen aboard the HMS Bacchante. The Princes travelled to Savanna Grande via the Cipero Tramroad, where they were waylaid by the rector of St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, the Rev. J.G Knight, who begged Their Majesties to indulge him and an adoring crowd by planting two small poui trees near the chapel- still to be seen today- , which the Princes were happy to do. The name of the village was changed to Princes Town. They then proceeded to the mud volcanoes of the Devil’s Woodyard on Hindustan Estate, stopping on the return journey to be entertained by ‘Squire’ Darling.
Even though a very old man, Harry Darling’s charity and hospitality never dimmed and in 1892, he hosted a wife of a Canadian Presbyterian missionary who wrote:
“As kind friends had invited us to visit their Cacao estate near the Montserrat Hills, we returned to Princestown by the Cipero tramway, which took us through eight miles of sugar estates. Rev. Mr. Macrae was on hand to meet us. Thanks to the kind hearted Mr. H. B. Darling, who made a gift to our Mission, of a large part of his beautifully situated property for the "Manse", and the adjoining buildings and grounds. Though an Episcopalian he has ever shown the deepest interest in our Missionaries. We feel very grateful to Mr. Darling and the Doctor for their kindness to us, and we will not forget the many enjoyable drives, in the large comfortable ' Victoria", and the exquisitely arranged flowers he sent in to us during our stay”
H.B Darling, full of years and good works, died in 1897 aged 84, being given a long existence which he used to great purpose. A huge crowd gathered at Lothians House where his remains were sorrowfully conveyed to the St. Stephen’s Anglican church , being laid to rest under a simple marble marker.
Lothians Estate passed into the holdings of the Colonial Company , the owners of Usine Ste. Madeline and the largest sugar concern in the British Empire. The home which was sanctuary and salon to prince and pauper was demolished in the 1930s.
Darling’s gravestone, in the unkempt St. Stephen’s churchyard, fell into dereliction and was lost for decades , before being restored by Clark and Battoo’s Funeral Home in the 1980s in a rare example of public preservation, worthy of the memory of a man who did so much and is now forgotten. The gravestone reads:
“IN LOVING MEMORY OF HARRY BOURNE DARLING, FORMERLY OF THE LOTHIANS ESTATE . HE WAS BORN IN DUBLIN AND DIED AT PRINCES TOWN ON 9TH DEC. 1897 AT AN ADVANCED AGE. By grace ye are saved through faith and that not of yourselves , it is the gift of God . Eph. II .8” (Source: Angelo Bissessarsingh Virtual Museum of T&T, Feb 1, 2024)