BERMUDA PENWORKS
"It’s not a pen, it’s a work of art!”
Member of the International Association of Pen Turners
Bermuda Cedar
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Juniperus bermudiana, most commonly known as Bermuda cedar, is endemic to Bermuda and is also referred to as Bermuda juniper. An evergreen tree growing up to 50 ft. tall with a trunk of up to 30 inches thick, it may take 200 years to reach full maturity. Known for its heavy, sweet aroma, and beautiful “birds-eye” reddish timber, it has played a significant role in Bermuda's rich history.
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When English settlers arrived in Bermuda in 1609, forests of Bermuda cedar flourished throughout the islands, and the species continued to thrive, even as settlers developed the land.
The wood was used by Bermuda’s craftsmen for varying purposes including homes, churches, shipbuilding, interior woodworking, furniture construction and coffin-making. In addition, the cones were used by settlers as food for both themselves and their animals, and to prepare cedar berry syrup as a treatment for toothaches and coughs and the settlers also boiled the shoots in water to create an elixir for lowering fevers. Furthermore, the wood was found to repel moths and fleas as well as prevent mildew and rot, so many Bermuda residents used the wood to line closets and drawers.
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The wood was especially prized by shipbuilders. It could be worked as soon as it was felled, and was naturally resistant to rot and woodworms. It was as strong as oak, but much lighter, contributing to the speed and manoeuvrability for which Bermudian ships became noted and prized.
In 1627, in an effort to conserve Bermuda's juniper forests, the local Assembly passed legislation to restrict export of Bermuda cedar for shipbuilding. In addition, between 1693 and 1878, the Bermuda legislature passed sixteen further acts placing restrictions on the uses of Bermuda cedar. Despite these Acts, the shipbuilding industry eventually denuded much of Bermuda's landscape by the 1830s. Only the dawn of the age of steam-driven, steel-hulled ships allowed the forest to recover.
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Unfortunately, a new threat to the continued existence of Bermuda's cedars arose in the mid-1940s when the species was attacked by two species of scale insects which were unintentionally introduced from the United States' mainland during the wartime construction of US airbases in Bermuda. By 1978, these parasites had killed 99% of Bermuda's junipers, some 8 million trees. However, the remaining 1% of the trees proved somewhat resistant to the scale insects, and efforts by Bermuda's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks to plant young junipers from this resistant strain throughout Bermuda have saved the trees from extinction.
Bermuda Cedar trees are now protected, and please rest assured that your authentic Bermuda cedar pen was created from legacy timber.
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Because it is both scarce, and expensive, and is featured in the woodwork and furnishings of many grand homes, its scent has come to be associated with wealth.
Enjoy your unique and special piece of Bermuda’s history and an example of the storied local craftsmanship!
Carlos R. Symonds, Bermudian Artisan