Venn's Town Mission Ruins

We continued on the coast road until it ran out!! We got as far as Port Launay Marine National Park, which meant crossing the mangrove forest. I have no photos as there was nowhere to stop. We literally ran out of road!! We got a little bit stuck trying to reverse down a narrow hill! It was rather stressful for a while!

However, we managed to turn round and make our way back to the village of Port Glaud, where we took the mountain road across the island. It was very steep and winding. The scenery was spectacular - very reminiscent of Tobago 🇹🇹! We had some rain on this part of the drive -
you don't get this much greenery without a lot of rain!!

We stopped to visit Venn's Town mission ruins. These are the remains of a boarding school opened in 1876 by Anglican missionaries to educate the children of liberated slaves who were now employed on plantations in the area. They built the school high in the hills, far away from the city and its many diseases. The children learned about the Bible and had lessons in singing, carpentry, and gardening. Many of them had no names when they came to the school, so they were given names like British, Bristol, and Baker. This explains why many Seychellois families of African origin have anglicised surnames today.

By 1883, the school closed as all of the children had been integrated into other Anglican schools. In 1895, the Anglican diocese decided not to renew the lease on Venn's Town, so the whole settlement fell into ruin.

Much later, the area surrounding and including Venn's Town became the Morne Seychellois National Park, and the ruins were declared a National Monument.

In 1972, the Queen visited the site and inaugurated the viewing lodge. We stood on the spot and admired the view of the lush greenery of the national park and the islands off the western coast of Mahe beyond.Read more