Lyford Cay


Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence island in the Bahamas. Considered one of the world's wealthiest and most exclusive neighbourhoods, it contains approximately 450 homes.

History

The former cay that lent its name to the community is named after Captain William Lyford Jr., a mariner of note in Colonial and Revolutionary times, and is built on a 448-acre grant he received for his services as a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War. Captain Lyford also received a 92-acre grant on Cat [Island, The Bahamas|Cat Island] for playing a key role in Andrew Deveaux’s Capture of [the Bahamas |raid of April 1783] that drove the Spanish from Nassau.
The Lyford Cay Club was built during the latter part of the 1950s by prominent Canadian businessman Edward Plunkett Taylor, who bought the land in 1954 from Bahamian developer Sir Harold Christie. In December 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy stayed at E. P. Taylor's home in Lyford Cay while he held talks with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Cay

Lyford Cay, also called Simms Cay, was a cay a few hundred metres off the north west coast of New Providence Island, 1.4 km long east-west, and up to 200 metres wide. On the map in the 1901 Edward Stanford Atlas it is noted: "The Isthmus at Lyford Cay has grown since 1830, when boats could pass at H.W. It is now 10 ft high & covered with bushes."

Notable residents