Manchester Parish, Jamaica
The
parish of Manchester is located in west-central
Jamaica, in the
county of Middlesex. Its
capital,
Mandeville, is a major business centre, and the only parish capital not located on the
coast or on a major
river. The Right Excellent
Norman Washington Manley (d. 1969), one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes, was born in this parish.
Taino/
Arawak settlement in the parish was substantiated when in 1792, a
surveyor found two carvings, believed to be
Amerindian Zemi, in a cave in the Carpenter's Mountains. They are now at the British Museum.
Manchester was formed in 1814, by an Act of the
House of Assembly, making it one of the newest parishes of Jamaica. It was formed as a result of the amalgamation of the parishes
St. Elizabeth,
Clarendon and Vere. The amalgamation was done in response to a petition from the inhabitants of Mile Gully, May Pen and Carpenters Mountain who complained that they were too far away from an administrative centre. Manchester was named in honour of the Duke of Manchester, the then
Governor of Jamaica. He was governor for 19 years, setting the record as the longest serving Governor of the island. The capital town, Mandeville, established in 1816, was named after his eldest son, Lord Mandeville.
No sugar estates can be found in the parish;
slaves worked on
coffee plantations. After
emancipation, the ex-slaves became independent coffee farmers. The
irish potato was first introduced to Jamaica at Bethany, a town in the parish. Citrus also became an important crop, as in 1920, the citrus fruit
ortanique, a cross between the
orange and
tangerine, was developed by Charles Jackson.
Many of Jamaica's businesses were started in Mandeville; the Mandeville Hotel, one of the oldest in the
Caribbean, began operations in 1875. The first "Free Library" in Jamaica was established in 1938, and is the oldest Parish Library.
The growth of the town was given a substantial stimulus when Alcan Bauxite Company opened operations there. It built houses for its then mostly
expatriate staff. The relatively high wages lured many educated Jamaicans there.
Mandeville is located at
latitude 17°51'N,
longitude 77°38'W. It is bordered by
St. Elizabeth in the
west,
Clarendon in the
east and by
Trelawny in the
north. Manchester covers an area of 830
km², making it Jamaica's sixth largest praish. It has three mountain ranges — the Carpenters Mountains, the May Day Mountains and the Don Figuerero Mountains. The highest point is 2770 feet above
sea level in the Carpenters Mountains.
Over 90% of the parish's surface is limestone so there is an abundance of cockpits,
sinkholes,
caves and underground passages. The Oxford Cave in upper Manchester is the largest of 20 known caves in the parish. Manchester also has large
bauxite deposits.
The parish offers a variety of
climate,
vegetation and
scenery. The capital, Mandeville, is situated at an
elevation of 626
metres (2,061 ft). The town is noted for its natural beauty and salubrious climate as
temperatures range from a low of 12.7 °C (55 °F) in December and January, to a high of 31 °C (88 °F) in July and August. There are very few
rivers in the parish, and the existing ones are rather small; Alligator Hole River, Alligator Pond River, Hector's River, Two Rivers and Swift River. Hector's River runs along the border of Manchester and
Trelawny, sinks at Troy where it flows underground for approximately six kilometresand rises below Oxford Cave as One Eye River. Despite this, water supply is generally scarce; the southern districts often suffer
drought.
The population of Manchester is 190,000. Mandeville, the capital and chief town of the parish, now has a
Mayor. It has a population of over 30,485.
There is no large-scale
cultivation of
crops as the area is generally
mountainous. Crops such as
sugar cane require large tracts of flat land.
Bananas,
coffee and
pimento,
annatto,
ginger are grown, and the parish is noted for its
citrus;
oranges, ortaniques and
grapefruit, all of which are exported. Christiana, 28 km (14 miles) north of Mandeville, is the second largest
town of the parish. The Christiana Land Authority assists agricultural development in the region.
Irish potato is grown considerably in the Christiana area and it is the centre of a large banana and ginger-growing district.
Manchester is a centre of the
bauxite mining industry.
Special attractions
*
Norman Manley, founder of the
People's National Party, was born in Roxborough in the south of the parish.
*Marshalls Pen Great House - is a 200 year old great house on a wildlife sanctuary.
*Factory Tours - High Mountain Coffee Factory, Pioneer Chocolate Factory, Bammy Factory, Pickapeppa Company, Bauxite Factory.
*Mrs. Stephenson's Garden - is one of Mandeville's prized home flower gardens.
Captain Alexander Woodburn Heron's tomb at the top of Shooter's Hill, now called "Heron Hill" by the locals.
*
Norman Manley*
Manchester Parish Library*
Statistical Institute of Jamaica*
Political Geography of Jamaica*
Manchester*
Stats
