Travel Photo Thursday: Falmouth’s Georgian Buildings, I

Categories: Postaday, Travel, Travel Photo ThursdayTags: Falmouth, Jamaica, postaday, Travel, Travel Photo ThursdayAuthor: Marcia Mayne

Falmouth, Trelawny, has the largest collection of intact Georgian buildings in the Caribbean. Several have been restored by the Falmouth Heritage Renewal.

On a recent visit, I took photos of some of these beautiful, old buildings.

Falmouth Baptist Manse, now home of Falmouth Heritage Renewal

Built in 1798 for the Athol Union Masonic Lodge of the Scottish Constitution, it was the first masonic temple in Jamaica. In 1834, it was sold to the Baptist Missionary because of debts incurred during its construction.

It is believed that the Baptist Missionary and Abolitionist, William Knibb (1803-45) lived here in the 1830s with his family. Much later (1951-75), the Manse became the William Knibb High School. It was restored recently by the William Knibb Trust and is now home to Falmouth Heritage Renewal.

St. Peter's Anglican Church, Falmouth

The Falmouth Parish Church of St. Peter the Apostle, was built circa 1796 on land that was given by Edward Barrett of Cinnamon Hill. As I wrote in a previous post, the Barretts were wealthy sugar family who owned 84,000 acres stretching from Montego Bay to Falmouth.

St. Peter's Anglican Church, Falmouth

Stained glass above the altar.

St. Peter's Anglican Church, Falmouth

A few yards from the church is a small cemetery with headstones dating to the 1700s. One of the members told us that there are also graves beneath the church — I wasn’t interested in seeing whether it was true. As we walked around we couldn’t miss this goat. He was sitting under the shade of a nearby tree, looking as if he belonged.

The Falmouth Heritage Renewal offers walking tours of Falmouth Heritage District from Mondays to Fridays at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The tours start at the Baptist Manse, 9 Market Street, and last about 75 minutes. There is no charge, however, donations are welcomed.

This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website.

About Marcia Mayne

Marcia Mayne travels a world full of books, music, art, fun people and great food. She raves about them constantly. Currently, she is journeying through Jamaica, her home country, to discover the places she missed.