The Square: Library, Post Office and Court House.
The Square is the heart of Pitcairn. The Court House, with a veranda running along its entire length, takes up one side of the Square, and outside, on a plinth, stands Bounty's anchor, which was recovered by Yankee in 1957. The hall, which is rarely used for judicial proceedings, serves as a meeting place for official meetings and as a focal point for social gatherings and public functions. The internal walls are decorated with historical and official portraits and memorabilia.
Directly
across the Square, from the Court House, is the Church. Bounty
Bible
is displayed beside the pulpit. The Church is open to the public
and the Bible can be viewed at any time. On the third side of the
Square
is a building containing the Island Secretary’s Office, Library and
Post
Office and facing it, alongside the main road, is a long bench where
people
sit and wait for church or sit and idly gossip. At both ends of
the
long bench there are two bells, which are rung on various
occasions.
A series of strikes in ones and twos is the call for prayer; three
strikes
signifies public work; four strikes is the signal for a share-out of
food
from a passing ship (this is not common these days); and five strikes
announces
the arrival of a ship.
The Bounty Anchor at the Square