Pedro St. James Castle, Historical building in Savannah, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Pedro St. James Castle is a two-story great house built in 1780 with coral-rock walls, mahogany verandas, shuttered windows and a slate roof brought from England. It stands on Grand Cayman's southern coast near Savannah, and its stone arch and staircase face the sea.

The structure was built in 1780 by William Eden and served as the seat of the first elected parliament of the Cayman Islands. It was also where the proclamation ending slavery was announced in 1835.

The name comes from Pedro Point, the coastal spot where the house stands, not from a settler called Pedro. Each 5 December the first elected assembly of 1831 is commemorated, and the stone arch is where the 1835 slavery abolition proclamation was read.

The building is open to visitors during the day with guided tours available at regular intervals. You can explore the different rooms and exhibits at your own pace while knowledgeable guides are available to answer questions throughout the property.

The visitors' centre holds a memorial to Hurricane Ivan, the category 5 storm that struck the Cayman Islands on 12 September 2004. Created by Gilbert Connolly of the Tourism Attraction Board, it uses text, images and symbols to record the damage; repairs to the house were estimated at 1.4 million dollars and it reopened in May 2006.