Self-guided tours can be completed in one hour. The walking tour allows you the freedom to explore all the grounds and enjoy seeing the 18th century Great House and its related artefacts. Absorb the beauty of panoramic ocean views, across seven landscaped acres, and the old stamp room and picture collections. Since its construction more than two centuries ago, Pedro St. James has been put to use in a variety of ways – as a cotton plantation, courthouse, jail, Government Assembly and even restaurant – before the Cayman Islands government finally purchased the property in 1996 and restored it to its 18th-century grandeur. Perhaps best known as the “birthplace of democracy in the Cayman Islands,” Pedro St. James was the venue for a meeting on December 5, 1831, where the decision was made to form the islands' first elected parliament. Later on May 3, 1835, the proclamation ending slavery in the British Empire was read from its steps. There is also a gift shop and restaurant on-site.