Halse Hall
| Halse Hall | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Former names | Hato de Buena Vista |
| General information | |
| Status | In use |
| Location | Clarendon |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Coordinates | 17°55′52″N77°14′52″W/ 17.9311°N 77.2478°W |
| Completed | c. 1680 |
Halse Hallis aplantationgreat houseinClarendon,Jamaica.
During theSpanishoccupation of Jamaica the estate was known as "Hato de Buena Vista".[1]In 1655, following theEnglishcapture of Jamaica the site was given to Major Thomas Halse who came fromBarbadoswithPennandVenables.Here he raised hogs, grazed cattle and built Halse Hall. The house had thick walls and served as the centre of the estate and a rallying point for defence. At the time of Thomas Halse death in 1702, the Great House was just a single-storey building. By the late 1740s the building was owned by his son, Francis Saddler Halse, who developed the property into a more imposing and beautiful two-storey structure. A new entrance was erected, accessed by an elaborate arrangement of stone steps flanked by columns and capped with afanlight.A peaked portico was added later.[2]
The Halse Hall Burial-Ground contains a tomb of the Halse family— Major Thomas Halse (d. 1702) and Thomas Halse (d. 1727).[3]
The property belonged toHenry De la Bechewho stayed there during 1823–24, while he made his geological survey of Jamaica.[4]HisNotes on the present condition of the negroes in Jamaicawas based on his experiences on the estate.[5]In December 1835 the estate was owned by the Hibbert family who received £3,523 11s 9d compensation when the 172 enslaved Africans were emancipated.[6]
In 1969 it was purchased byAlcoa Minerals of Jamaicawho added another wing. Halse Hall is the oldest English building in Jamaica which is still used as a residence.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Halse Hall,Jamaica Travel and Culture,accessed 18 July 2010
- ^Halse Hall Great HouseArchived2010-06-27 at theWayback Machine,Jamaica National Heritage Trustaccessed 18 July 2010
- ^Historic Jamaica,by Frank Cundall, 1915
- ^Sir Henry Thomas De la Becheby Lawrence J. Chubb accessed 18 July 2010
- ^Important people in Jamaican affairs circa 1752 to 1831,accessed 18 July 2010
- ^"Legacies of British Slave-ownership".University College London.Retrieved19 June2013.
- ^Halse Hall,Jamaica Travel and Culture, accessed 18 July 2010