Jamaica / Special Interests / Conservation

Jamaica has quite a strong architectural heritage that other islands do not have and this is under strain. There are reckoned to have been as many as 300 plantation estate houses on the island, many of them heart-rendingly beautiful, and there is some wonderful tropical Georgian town architecture. Each has been under pressure for different reasons. To some Jamaicans the plantation history is a visible reminder of slavery and they are still happy to see it rot. Luckily there are people who are forward-looking enough to want to preserve something so historically significant, but they have an uphill battle in the climate especially now the plantations are not the heart of the economy. The grand Georgian buildings, some monumental (in Spanish Town), others commercial and residential, in Falmouth, for instance, often also have a stigma in some Jamaicans’ eyes because they are the vestiges of a happily forgotten colonial era.

Elsewhere there are forts, some of which have been preserved, but many of which have fallen into disrepair, and churches, most of which are kept up, but which need constant funding. Then there are small monuments all over the island, dedications and statues and even industrial vestiges such as waterwheels and aqueducts, which have either been destroyed by general development or have been claimed by the undergrowth. There are also a few delightful old botanical gardens. Castleton is in a better situation because it can keep going on a partly commercial basis, but the botanical gardens at Bath, the second-oldest in the Western Hemisphere have not been so fortunate. For the pleasures of visiting these nowadays, please see under Flowers & Gardens section.

There are a number of national parks and reserves around the island, which enable you to visit these areas of natural or architectural significance.

A pick of the trips to Conservation Areas:

Rose Hall Great House, a stunning plantation Great House.

Spanish Town, the main Square, with its Georgian buildings

There is also a number of bodies that deal with the conservation of Jamaica’s extraordinary natural and cultural heritage. Some are government supported, others privately funded. Please see here for more details of Jamaica conservation organisations.