The house of Nurse Leila Yates in West Bay has been purchased by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.
The original wattle and daub house is on West Church Street and is more than 100 years old.
‘The purchase of this house is as much about the woman as it is the house,’ said Trust general manager Frank Roulstone in a press release.
‘Nurse Leila brought many of West Bay’s prominent citizens into this world, many of them in this very house. The house is an important historical structure not only for what it is but for the story it tells. That story needs to be told here, not just in the building, but in the district and surrounding area where it all happened. Moving this house was not an option.’
The neighborhood was just up the road from Central West Bay and in close to Mr. Dick’s Bakery, Mr. Stafford’s Ice Cream Shop, Capt. Lorraine Henning’s House, as well as Mr. Caleb Powell’s House on Henning Lane, which was used by doctors, dentists as well as Mr. Rose, the dispenser.
Most of West Bay’s remaining historic structures are in this area.
Irskie Leila Yates was born in West Bay in 1899 to Arthur and Jacintha (Jessie) Yates. She attended nursing classes in George Town, often walking there to attend classes. She delivered her first baby in 1921 and continued as a district midwife until retiring in 1972. During that time she is said to have delivered more than 1,000 babies and many of them in her own home.
The home is a simple wattle and daub building framed in and resting on ironwood posts. It was originally situated near Mr. Prentice’s shop on Boggy Sand Road, but was moved to its present site in 1917 due to beach erosion and damage from a hurricane.
Nurse Leila’s home was purchased in March, 1997 by visitors to the island Maria Bernardi and her sister Eleni Strompolos with a view to preserving the building as a vacation home. The two upgraded the house, adding modern conveniences to the old existing structure.
The Trust was approached in April 2007 by the sisters, who were no longer able to enjoy the home they had lovingly repaired, mr. Roulstone said. Ms Bernardi’s hope was that the Trust could continue to preserve the house in memory of such an important woman in Cayman’s history.
Thanks to the generosity of Maples Finance Ltd., the Trust was able to purchase the building and surrounding yard this month, Mr. Roulstone said. Legal services for the transaction were donated by the firm Stuarts Walker Hersant.
Nurse Leila’s home is one of few standing examples of historic architecture and construction in the West Bay area.
The Trust will begin a careful restoration of the house as it looks toward a long-term use for the building.
‘We will be seeking and depending on the assistance of the community not only in restoring this home and yard but also in interpreting its role in the nursing and midwifery field,’ said Mrs. Alice Mae Coe, West Bay District Chairman of the National Trust.
‘We must work to preserve the building and the memory of a great person in Cayman’s and West Bay’s proud history’, she said.
She invited everyone interested in being part of a community restoration project for Nurse Leila’s house to contact the National Trust on 949-0121.
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