Longwood is the second largest district by area (after Blue Hill) and home to around 18% of the island’s population. It includes the principal settlements of Longwood Village (mostly locally referred to as Longwood), Deadwood and Bottom Woods. There are four geological structures of note: Flagstaff; adjacent to it, The Barn; Fisher’s Valley; and Prosperous Bay Plain, site of the St. Helena Airport.
The Longwood Golf Club is just outside Longwood Village (on the road to Bottom Woods) which is a nine-hold course offering a warm welcome to members and visiting golfers.
Pub Paradise is a popular entertainment venue in Longwood Village. There is a Meteorological Station situated just beyond Longwood Village. The vast majority of the island’s Renewable Energy is generated by the wind turbins, situated on Deadwood Plain.
EXILES
St. Helena’s most famous exile, Napoleon Bonaparte spent most of his time here at Longwood House, arriving on 10th December 1815 and dying there on 5th May 1821. His Tomb is also in Longwood district.
The Boer Prisoners that stayed here from 1900-1902 were housed in two camps: one at Broad Bottom in Blue Hill district and the other on Deadwood Plain.
OTHER HISTORY
The placenames of the northern part of the district (Longwood, Deadwood and Bottom Woods) all relate to the “Great Wood” which originally covered this area (Brooke’s “A History of St. Helena” of 1808 writes the area’s name as “Long Wood”). The Great Wood was destroyed by the early settlers and is now, in part, being re-created as the Millenium Forest.
The Diplomatic Wireless Station that operated from the late 1960s to the 1970s was based around Deadwood Plain.
WIREBIRDS
There is a major Wirebird site in the district, at Deadwood Plain.
