Rose Hall Great House

This mansion, with its commanding hilltop position 3km east of Ironshore, is the most famous great house in Jamaica. Construction of the imposing house was begun by George Ashe in the 1750s and was completed in the 1770s by John Palmer, a wealthy plantation owner. Palmer and his wife Rose (after whom the house was named) hosted some of the most elaborate social gatherings on the island. Slaves destroyed the house in the Christmas Rebellion of 1831 and it was left in ruins for over a century. In 1966 the three-story building was restored to haughty grandeur. Beyond the Palladian portico the house is a bastion of 18th-century style, with a magnificent mahogany staircase and doors, and silk wall fabric that is a reproduction of the original designed for Marie Antoinette during the reign of Louis XVI. Don’t touch! Many of the antiques are the works of leading English master carpenters of the day. Much of the attraction is the legend of Annie Palmer, a multiple murderer said to haunt the house. Her bedroom upstairs is decorated in crimson silk brocades. The cellars now house an English-style pub and a well-stocked gift shop. There’s also a snack bar. Tours of the house are mandatory and commence every 15 minutes till 5:15pm.