Preacher's Cave

Useful Information

Location:	3 km east of Gene's Bay, North Eleuthera.
Open:	no restrictions. [2020]
Fee:	free. [2020]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Eleuthera Tourist Office, Tel: +1-242-332-2142. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1648	discovered by the Eleutheran Adventurers.

Description

Preacher's Cave was discovered by William Sayle and a group of 70 Christians, later named the Eleutheran Adventurers. The English Puritans and religious independents cane to Bermuda on the William but were expelled for their failure to swear allegiance to the Crown. In search of a place in which they could freely practice their faith, they were shipwrecked off the Eleuthera coast on a reef later named the Devil's Back Bone. Which is quite fitting if you think about it. They reached the shore and discovered a cave where they took refuge. They shaped an altar from a large boulder at the far end of the cave and conducted the island's first religious service. The settlers had shelter, but they had lost their provisions so they had no food. Sayle took eight men in a small boat and went to Virginia for help, and returned with a ship and supplies and relieved the others.p

The island was called Cigateo by the Lucayans, but the new inhabitants named it Eleutheria, from the Greek word for freedom, which later became Eleuthera. The cave was later called Preacher's Cave, and a religious service was held every year for the next 100 years on the anniversary of their survival. The altar they erected still stands. The site is popular by visitors and locals for picnics and other social outings because of the lovely white sandy beach nearby.

The cave is located at the extreme northern tip of Eleuthera.