I’m not mad but I went to Bellevue! |

…The ‘Great’ House, not the ‘Mad’ House!

I refuse to make excuses for my absence, so I will get right to it. I’ve been privileged to visit a number of Great Houses recently and without knowing, I stumbled upon another! Also situated in St. Ann, this one is a typical example of Jamaican vernacular architecture and is of architectural and historic interest.

Found this bit of info. useful: According to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust The Great House was the seat of authority on an estate. The size and profitability of the property and the wealth of the owner determined the size of the house. These houses were usually two storey buildings with a base of brick, cut stone and mortar. The top floor was usually made of wood. Variations of this archetype included one-storey buildings constructed of wood, cut stone or Spanish walling or wattle and daub; or two-storey building made of brick, wood or cut stone.

Indeed this sprawling (private) residence subtly and elegantly draws your attention to the house built on what archaeological evidence suggests was an extensive Taino site. In 1982, the only gold artifact; a gold disc dated AD 600-800, which was probably used as an eye or earplug for the Taino Zemis (religious/ceremonial gods), ever found in Jamaica was unearthed there.

I spent a few days there so my photos are an odd mix of various weather patterns. Some days it rained really heavily then the next was a ‘Little House on the Prairie/Let’s go Frolicking in the Fields’ kind of feeling. I think the most difficult part of this was organizing the photos so that you can get an idea of the space and take time to appreciate the beautiful scenes around.