HAMPTON Court is one of the well-known villages on the Essequibo Coast, and its residents — many of whom are middle class citizens — largely depend on rice farming for their livelihood.
The village was once the premier sugar estate on the Essequibo Coast, and in its heyday boasted a hospital, a weekly market, and one of the largest distilleries in Essequibo.

The Dutch, who came around 1620, were the first colonisers to settle on the Essequibo Coast; and on their new homeland, they established cotton and sugar plantations.

At one time the Essequibo Coast had 55 sugar estates, 34 sugar mills, and the largest estate complex was housed at Hampton Court.

By 1804, the British had taken over from the Dutch and had renamed most of the estates, but some Dutch names, such as La Belle Alliance, Reliance, Hoff-von-oric, Aurora and Perth, remained.

In 1838, the Indentureship system was introduced, and Hampton Court had a quota of indentured servants.

At about 1860, estates on the coast began to close due to economic reasons, and greater attention was placed on the estates in Demerara and Berbice.

The last remaining estates to be closed were the Golden Fleece, Affiance and Hampton Court estates. In 1934, Hampton Court was the last estate to close, and it effectively brought an end to sugar cultivation on the Essequibo Coast.

There is an interesting but troubling story on the closure of that estate. At the time, the owners of the last three estates were John Doors, Seymour of the Golden Fleece Estate, and HP Brasington who held ownership over Hampton Court. All three men were contesting the election to become leader of the region. In those days, only persons with property were eligible to vote in an election, and when the ballots were counted, Seymour emerged the victor. The results, according to reports, greatly annoyed Brasington, who overnight ordered the closure of the Hampton Court estate.

The decision, while probably made in the best interest of the disgruntled Brasington, was devastating to the some 400 Indian indentured servants who occupied the 20 logies on the estate. Their homes were destroyed, they were forced out of the estate’s compound, and were reportedly told by Brasington to “eat mud” and “sleep in bags”. Some, out of frustration, committed suicide. While a few were rescued by the black villagers at Dartmouth, others moved to the Pomeroon and other areas on the Essequibo Coast.

By 1945, the estate went into receivership, and was soon after purchased by McDoom, who rented lands to the East Indian farmers to plant rice. It was the beginning of rice cultivation on the Essequibo Coast.

In the early 1960s, Kayman Sankar came on the scene with establishment of the Tapacuma Lake Project. He purchased the Hampton Court estate and breathed new life into it. He introduced new technology in rice farming, improved drainage and irrigation, and agricultural production soared. Sankar also sublet 10-acre plots to farmers, improved his rice milling capacity, set up a community ground, and later sold several lots for housing.

In addition, he held field demonstrations and trained farmers’ children to operate modern equipment; and on the basis of service, many employees were sent on vacation to Canada and islands in the Caribbean. Some of them never returned to Guyana.

Sankar was more than a farmer; he was also a philanthropist and benefactor. He stood as guarantor for many farmers, allowing them to purchase heavy-duty machinery through bank loans.

Sankar, an icon and industry captain purchased the Hampton Court estate through a loan from the Guyana Credit Cooperative. He set the pace for the introduction of new technology into the rice industry, and was also a great community leader.

With his business going great guns, he built at Hampton Court an airstrip which still exists and is in use today. His aircraft was initially used for shying and spraying paddy and for tourism tours. It is often used by Government officials on visits to the region.

In recent times, Hampton Court has been affected by poor drainage, and the ground, which once hosted a test match and was a regular first class venue, is now a shadow of what it was in its glory days. Its restoration would require a significant investment, probably from Government, as the Sankar family no longer enjoys the financial status it once had.