Clermont

Paget Parish

This is an attraction if you are a tennis fan. And even then, Clermont is closed to the public, so a drive-by viewing is the best you can hope for. But for some who have a passion for tennis, a love of exploring new places while on vacation, or even those who can't seem to get enough of the historical architecture or just plain beautiful homes of Bermuda does indeed constitute an attraction. The grand intimidating house known as Clermont was once the home of

Sir Brownlow Gray, who was chief justice of Bermuda, and housed the first ever tennis court in Bermuda.

You can say the history of US tennis began on the courts at Clermont, too. In 1874 a Miss Mary Outerbridge from New York visited her friends at Clermont, and learned to play tennis. She loved it so much she went home with a mission to get a court built closer to home. She convinced the Staten Island Cricket Club to build her a court, and she thus began teaching America the game of tennis. She had as her resources her own experience on vacation in Bermuda, and a book of rules.

Clermont is in Paget Parish. It's between Lovers Lane and Highwood Lane on Harbour Road.