MAJOR
HISTORICAL/CULTURAL/RECREATIONAL/ECOLOGICAL SITES |
Annotto
Bay Baptist Church: |
This
church was built in 1823 and was damaged in the Christmas slave
rebellion of 1831-1832. It was badly damaged by a storm in 1880
but was rebuilt in 1894. It was designed by the minister in charge,
Rev.Charles Barron of Scotland and people believe that he cut the
glass for all the windows by hand and fitted them in the frames
and decorated the walls of the church with verses of scripture.
The style of the church is unique. It was again repaired in 1964
and was listed as an historic monument by the Jamaica National Trust
Commission.
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Rio
Nuevo Battle Site: |
A
plaque reads: "On this ground on June 17 1658, was fought the
battle of Rio Nuevo to decide whether Jamaica would be Spanish or
English. On one side were the Jamaicans of both black and white
races, whose ancestors had come to Jamaica from both Africa and
Spain 150 years before. The Spanish forces lost the battle and the
island. The Spanish whites fled to Cuba but the black people took
to the mountains and fought a long and bloody guerrilla war against
the English. This site is dedicated to them all."
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| Castleton
Gardens: |
Located
31 kilometres from Kingston on the road connecting Kingston to Annotto
Bay,the Gardens span 12 acres of land at an elevation of 496 feet.
They were established in 1865. The Gardens are heavily populated
with birds and a high proportion of the natural vegetation is exotic
plants with many ferns and plants from Madagascar, India and the
East Indies.
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Firefly:
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Between
1956 and 1973 this was the home of Sir Noel Coward, the English
playwright, actor, songwriter and wit. The English style cottage
is set amidst wide lawns on top of a hill with a breath-taking view
of the coastline about three miles from Port Maria. On his death
he left the property to a friend who gave it to the country. It
fell into disrepair and the property was leased by The Jamaica Heritage
Trust to Island Outposts. It was meticulously restored and in 1993
was reopened to the public as a museum. Because of Noel Coward's
experience with fireflies (peeny wallies) there one evening, he
bought the land, built his house and named it Firefly.
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| Brimmer
Hall: |
Persons wishing
to see how a modern Jamaican plantation works can visit Brimmer
Hall a 2000 acre estate near Bailey's Vale, six miles southeast
of Port Maria. It produces bananas, coconuts, sugarcane
made into sugar elsewhere and citrus for export. The Great House
is made of wood and furnished with antiques and oriental rugs
and even an original suit of armour. An educational tour reveals
the workings of the plantation.
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