Sights in Jamaica
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Courthouse
The Courthouse was rebuilt in limestone and red brick after being destroyed in the 1865 rebellion. Bogle is buried beside the courthouse alongside a mass grave holding the remains of many slaves who lost their lives in the rebellion. The spot is marked by a moving memorial dedicated to 'those who love freedom.'
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Frenchman's Cove
This small cove, just east of Drapers, 8km from Port Antonio, boasts one of the prettiest beaches for miles. A stream winds lazily to a white-sand beach that shelves steeply into the water. Bring insect repellent. There's a snack bar serving jerk chicken and fish, alfrescoshowers, bathrooms and a secure parking lot.
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Circle B Farm
This working plantation, at Lewis, near Richmond Hill, about 1.5km south of the A1, has tours that demonstrate the raising of avocados, bananas, coconuts and vegetables. The farm is reached via a turnoff 1km west of Sevilla la Nueva at Priory, 3km west of St Ann’s Bay. Also on site is a guest house.
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Creek Dome
Lurking at the end of Creek St is the bizarre-looking Creek Dome, built in 1837 above the underground spring that supplied drinking water for Montego Bay. The structure is actually a hexagon with a crenellated castle turret in which the ‘Keeper of the Creek’ lived and collected a toll.
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Trinity Cathedral
Open only for services (5:30am weekdays, 8:30am Sun) or if you call ahead for the caretaker to let you in, this dilapidated church is noted largely for having been the site of Norman Manley’s funeral (attended by such dignitaries as Fidel Castro) as well as a small wall of mosaics dating back to Spanish times.
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Jamaica House
About half a kilometer further up Hope Rd from Devon House on the left, Jamaica House is faced by a columned portico and fronted by expansive lawns. Initially built in 1960 as the residence of the prime minister, the building today houses the prime minister's office. Visitors are restricted to peering through the fence.
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Denbigh Agricultural Show
The annual Denbigh Agricultural Show is held on the Denbigh Showground, 3km west of town, on Independence weekend in early August. Farmers from each parish display the fruits of their labors, from yams to livestock. Live entertainment and food vendors round out the bill. For information, contact the Jamaica Agricultural Society.
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Bellfield Great House
The Bellfield Great House, built in 1735, has been restored and is now a showcase of 18th-century colonial living. The former plantation manager’s house doubles as a museum charting the development of the area since the day that Colonel Nicholas Jarrett arrived with Cromwell’s invasion army in 1655.
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Booby Cay
Booby Cay is a small coral island 1km offshore from Rutland Point, which was used as a South Seas setting in the Walt Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The island is named for the seabirds - 'boobies' in local parlance - that nest here. Water-sports concessionaires can arrange boats for about around US$25 roundtrip.
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Courthouse
The town’s restored courthouse has limestone balustrades and a clapboard upper story topped by a clock tower supported by Corinthian columns. The clock was sent to Lucea in 1817 by mistake – it was actually intended for the Caribbean island of St Lucia. It has supposedly worked without a hitch ever since.
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Museum of Coins and Notes
The Bank of Jamaica, the national mint and treasury at the east end of Ocean Blvd, is fronted by a tall concrete statue of Noel ‘Crab’ Nethersole (minister of finance from 1955 to 1969). Inside the bank building you’ll find a small Museum of Coins and Notes displaying Jamaican currency through the centuries.
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Sun Valley Plantation
This working plantation and botanical farm is at Crescent on the B13, some 5km south of Oracabessa and 8km west of Port Maria. Owners Lorna and Nolly Binns offer enjoyable garden tours in a plantation setting beside the Crescent River. You can opt to visit the groves of coconuts and other tropical fruits and medicinal herbs.
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Institute of Jamaica
Toward the south end of East St, the Institute of Jamaica is the nation’s small-scale equivalent of the British Museum or Smithsonian. The institute hosts permanent and visiting exhibitions, and features a lecture hall, plus the National Library with Jamaican newspapers and texts dating back more than two centuries.
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Naval Dockyard
The old Naval Dockyard lies to the east of Morgan's Harbour Hotel. Its perimeter walls still stand, as does the Polygon Battery and torpedo slipways, though most of the buildings within are gone. The old coaling station lies immediately to the east. Most of the famous ships of the Royal Navy - from the 18th century to the age of steam - berthed here.
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Pickapeppa Factory
The Pickapeppa Factory, on the B6 at the foot of Shooter’s Hill, offers 30-minute tours by appointment. The factory produces Jamaica’s sinus-searing world-famous sauce, which graces most tables on the island. There’s not much to see, other than workers stirring giant pots of simmering scallions and other vegetables.
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House of Assembly
On the eastern side of Parade Square is the redbrick House of Assembly, erected in 1762 and today housing the offices of the St Catherine Parish Council. It has a beautiful wooden upper story with a pillar-lined balcony. The Assembly and Supreme Court sat here in colonial days, when it was the setting for violent squabbles among feuding parliamentarians.
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St James Parish Church
Built between 1775 and 1782, and later rebuilt after the 1957 earthquake, this is regarded as one of the finest churches on the island. With a bit of luck you'll be blessed with a view of the beautiful interior, which contains a stunning stained-glass window behind the altar. Inside are some fine marble monuments, one dedicated to the White Witch of Rose Hall.
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King’s House
King’s House was initially the home of the Lord Bishop of Jamaica. The original house was badly damaged in the 1907 earthquake. Today’s visitors explore the remake, built in 1909 to a new design in reinforced concrete. The dining room contains two particularly impressive full-length portraits of King George III and Queen Charlotte by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
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Barnett Estate
The sea of sugarcane south of Montego Bay is part of the Barnett Estate, a plantation owned and operated since 1755 by the Kerr-Jarretts, one of Jamaica’s preeminent families; their holdings once included most of the Montego Bay area. Today the family (now in its 11th generation) holds the land in trust for the government and manages it accordingly.
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Burchell Memorial Baptist Church
Two blocks east of Sam Sharpe Sq, Burchell Memorial Baptist Church is a brick structure dating to 1835. Sam Sharpe was a deacon here. The original church was founded in 1824 by Rev Thomas Burchell. An angry mob destroyed the church in reprisal for Burchell’s support of the emancipation cause, but the missionary escaped to sea. Sam Sharpe’s remains are buried in the vault.
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Rose Hall Great House
The infamy of multiple-murderer Annie Palmer, AKA 'White Witch of Rose Hall' surrounds this imposing 18th-century house and its inhabitants. Though destroyed by slaves in 1831, it was restored to its haughty three-storey grandeur in 1966. Besides discovering the thrilling legend, an abode full of antiques, mahogany and silk awaits you - as do an old English-style pub, snack bar and gift shop.
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Fort Augusta
Augusta Drive runs along the breeze-blown harbor shoreline parallel to Port Henderson Beach - the thin strip of sand is terribly littered. At its eastern end is Fort Augusta, dating from 1740. The original fort was destroyed when lightning struck the magazine holding 3000 barrels of gunpowder, killing 300 people. The huge crater was filled in and the fort rebuilt. Much decayed, the fort is now a prison.
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Giddy House
A small brick hut, the Giddy House (so known because it produces a sense of disorientation to people who enter), sits alone amid scrub-covered, wind-blown sand 100m to the southwest of Fort Charles. The redbrick structure was built in 1888 to house the artillery store. The 1907 earthquake, however, briefly turned the spit to quicksand and one end of the building sank, leaving the store at a lopsided angle.
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Christiana Bottom
This beautiful riverside spot, in a valley bottom below the town, has a waterfall plus picnic spots framed by bamboo. Two sinkholes full of crystal-clear water offer refreshing dips. You can hike from the center of town, though the going at the lower reaches can be muddy and slippery. Take the road that leads east from the National Commercial Bank; it's 3km from here. Take the first left and then the second left.
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Kirkvine Works
Kirkvine Works, an alumina-processing plant at the base of Shooter’s Hill, is owned and operated by Windalco. You can arrange free weekday tours in Mandeville through Astra Country Inn, or through Mr J Neil at the Kirkvine Works office. A day’s notice is usually required. There’s a strict dress code: long pants are required and feet must be covered (no sandals).
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