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Book review of: Housing and Finance in Developing Countries Edited by Kavita Datta and Gareth A. Jones. London and New York: Routledge, 1999. Pp.xxiii + 270. £50. ISBN 0 415 17242 X.

The impending destruction of a small, crenellated stone fortification of 17th-century English construction located on the coast of the Caribbean island of Nevis prompted its preservation by record. Each interior and exterior elevation has been recorded by scaled drawings and photographs. Limited excavation of the interior revealed that there had been a mortared floor which continued through the only doorway, unusually located to face the sea. Documentary research has suggested its construction date, analysis of sediments showed that the sea never entered the building, and mortar analysis confirms its difference to later building techniques on the island. Details indicate that the building was not well-designed as a defensive structure. Artefact recovery attests to the subsequent use of the fort, probably when no longer a military or militia building, and includes imported and local pottery. The fort was demolished just before Christmas 1996.