Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Antigua and Barbuda / English Harbour / Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn
Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn
English Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda · Independent · Near Luxury
Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn occupies a late 18th-century Royal Navy warehouse inside Nelson's Dockyard National Park in English Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda. The building once stored copper sheeting, lumber, tar, rope, and tools used to repair and outfit naval vessels, a role that reflects the dockyard's standing as a British maritime base in the Caribbean. The surrounding Georgian-style complex, protected as a National Park since 1984, was built in a sheltered natural harbor by generations of enslaved Africans alongside Royal Navy labor. After the navy withdrew and the dockyard declined in the 19th century, the storehouse fell into disrepair before restoration work between 1982 and 1988 converted it into a boutique inn, preserving thick stone walls, exposed brick, post-and-beam timber, and Georgian proportions while opening a central courtyard through the structure.
- Opened 1789
- Neighborhood: Road Harbour
About Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn
- Built in 1789, the yellow-brick Georgian warehouse stored lumber for hull repairs and copper sheeting that protected Royal Navy warships from shipworms in tropical Caribbean waters.
- Each of the fourteen suites is named for one of Lord Nelson's ships or their commanders, furnished with period pieces inside Nelson's Dockyard National Park.
- Restoration converted the 1789 storehouse into a boutique inn between 1982 and 1988, preserving post-and-beam timber, exposed brick arches, and a central courtyard opened through the structure.
- Nelson's Dockyard became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, recognizing the Georgian naval complex where enslaved African laborers helped build Britain's Caribbean fleet base.
- Yellow bricks in the walls arrived from Britain as ballast aboard supply ships, a common practice in Caribbean colonial construction of the late eighteenth century.
History
Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn sits inside Nelson’s Dockyard National Park in English Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda, in a building that began life in the late 18th century as a Royal Navy warehouse. The inn’s own history notes that the structure was used to store copper sheeting, lumber, tar, rope, tools, and other supplies needed to repair and outfit naval vessels, a practical role that reflects the dockyard’s importance as a British maritime base in the Caribbean.
The wider dockyard context is just as significant. UNESCO describes the Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites as a Georgian-style naval complex built in a sheltered natural harbor, protected as a National Park since 1984 and recognized for its strategic importance to the British navy and for the labour of generations of enslaved Africans who helped build and sustain it.
After the Royal Navy withdrew and the dockyard declined in the 19th century, the Copper and Lumber Store fell into disrepair before mid-20th-century restoration work brought it back into use. The hotel says the building was carefully rehabilitated to preserve its original character, including thick stone walls, exposed brick, timber beams, and Georgian proportions, while adapting it for hospitality.
Today, the inn’s appeal is inseparable from its setting: guests stay within a living historic harbor that remains one of Antigua and Barbuda’s most recognizable heritage landscapes.
Restoration converted the 1789 storehouse into a boutique inn between 1982 and 1988, preserving post-and-beam timber, exposed brick arches, and a central courtyard opened through the structure.
The setting
1.3 km from Galleon Beach. 2.7 km from Pigeon Beach.
Experiences
- Private sunset catamaran cruise — Private sunset catamaran cruise to sail off into the sunset after the ceremony.
Amenities
- Luxuriously decorated rooms
- Champagne bottle on arrival (honeymoon package)
- Mini bar (honeymoon package)
- Onsite Certified Wedding Planner
- Wedding packages
- Rehearsal dinner
- Event set up and décor
- Audio equipment set up and services
- Photography/Video services
- Reception dinner
- Floral services
- Hair & makeup services
- Marriage official
- Butterfly release (available seasonally)
- Candy station
- Private sunset catamaran cruise
Open Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.