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MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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Manchester
Manchesta | |
|---|---|
 Manchester in Jamaica | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| County | Middlesex |
| Capital | Mandeville |
| Major towns | Christiana Porus Williamsfield Coleyville |
| Area | |
• Total | 830 km2 (320 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 6th |
| Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 193,694 |
| • Density | 230/km2 (600/sq mi) |
The Parish of Manchester (Jamaican Patois: Manchesta) is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Mandeville.
Taino/Arawak settlement in the parish was substantiated when in 1792, a surveyor found three carvings, believed to be Amerindian Zemi, in a cave in the Carpenter's Mountains.[2] 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 portions of the parishes St. Elizabeth, Clarendon and the entirety of 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 William Montagu, 5th 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 continues to grow rapidly due to it being considered one of the most attractive towns in Jamaica and the cleanest of them all.[citation needed]
Mandeville boasts no fewer than 14 shopping centres, two hospitals (one public and one private), medical centres and many doctors. Next to Kingston, it provides the best medical services in the island, a major asset for tourism development.
The population of Manchester is 193,694 The Statistical Institute of Jamaica Census2022 .[1] Mandeville, the capital and chief town of the parish, has a Mayor, Donovan Mitchell and a deputy mayor, Rohan Kennedy It has a population of over 30,485.
Mandeville, the parish capital is located at latitude 17°51'N, longitude 77°38'W. Manchester 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 parish. It has three mountain ranges — the Carpenters Mountains, the May Day Mountains, and the Don Figuerero Mountains. The highest point is 2,770 feet (840 m) above sea level in the Carpenters Mountains. Manchester is divided into four political districts (constituencies): North-West, North-East, Central and Southern Manchester.[citation needed]
Over 90% of the parish's surface is limestone so there is an abundance of cockpits, sinkholes, caves and underground passages. Gourie Cave, near Christiana, is the longest of the over 100 caves in the parish, as well as the longest known cave in Jamaica (3505m).[3] Smokey Hole Cave, in Cross Keys, is the deepest known cave on the island (194m).[4] Oxford Cave, near Auchtembeddie, in the NW part of the parish, is another of the major speleological sites found in Manchester, and was once noted as a roosting site for the now possibly extinct bat species Phyllonycteris aphylla.[5] Manchester also has large bauxite deposits, with parts of the parish having been strip-mined as a result, notably in William's Field, Hope, and Blue Mountain.
The parish offers a variety of climate, vegetation and scenery. The capital, Mandeville, is situated at an elevation of 626 m (2,054 ft). The town is noted for its climate, and temperatures range from a low of 12.7 °C (55 °F) in December and January, to a high of 33 °C (91 °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, Gut 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 kilometers and rises below Oxford Cave as One Eye River. Despite this, water supply is generally scarce; the southern districts often suffer drought.
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, and ginger are grown, and the parish is noted for its citrus (including oranges, ortaniques, and grapefruit), much of which are exported. Christiana, 28 km (17 mi) 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. The first bauxite mining companies were Alcan and Alpart. Alcan, a large world-renowned Canadian company, had a strong presence in the town and was one of the main employers. It lured many Jamaicans because of high salaries and the benefits offered. Alpart, short for Aluminum Partners of Jamaica, was initially formed as a joint venture of Kaiser Aluminum, Reynolds Aluminum, and Anaconda. It is still in operation in Nain St Elizabeth parish; however, it is now jointly owned by UC Rusal of Russia and Hydro Aluminum of Norway.
The parish created the Manchester Local Sustainable Development Plan in 2007 to improve the community over the next 20 years.
Captain Alexander Woodburn Heron's tomb at the top of Shooter's Hill, now called "Heron Hill" by the locals.[6]
Roxborough Estate is the birthplace of Jamaican National Hero and its first premier, Norman Washington Manley.
Secondary high
Technical high
Private high
There are several notable tertiary institutions, the Northern Caribbean University (NCU), a Seventh-day Adventist institution, formerly called West Indies College, the Church Teacher's College, Mandeville, The Catholic College, Knox Community College, Cobbla and Mandeville Campuses. There are also other religious-based institutions located in the parish: Regent College of the Caribbean (the former Jamaica Bible College) as well as Bethel Bible College.
| Geographic | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Parish of Manchester (Jamaican Patois: Manchesta) is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Mandeville.
Manchester was an ancient ecclesiastical parish of the Salford Hundred, in Lancashire, England. It encompassed several townships and chapelries, including the then township of Manchester (now Manchester city centre). Other townships are now parts of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester and/or Greater Manchester. In the Domesday Book the parish of Manchester is recorded as including St Michael's Church in Ashton-under-Lyne as well as the mother church of St Mary's in Manchester. Although by the 13th century Ashton had formed its own separate parish, the advowson was held by Manchester as late as 1458.
Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named after the 5th Duke, while its capital Mandeville was named after his son and heir. The current Duke is Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester, a controversial British and Australian citizen who lives in the United States and has served several prison sentences. He succeeded to the peerage in 2002 following the death of his father Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester, the last of the dukes to hold a seat in the House of Lords.
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly selective private day school for boys aged 7–18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). It is the largest private day school for boys in the United Kingdom and has been described as "one of Britain's most prestigious independent day schools", known for its strong academic focus; having educated politicians, leading journalists, diplomats, Nobel laureates, poets, as well as Academy Award and BAFTA award-winning actors and directors. Originally named 'The Manchester Free Grammar School for Lancashire Boys', The Manchester Grammar School was founded by Hugh Oldham in 1515 adjacent to Manchester Parish Church as a free grammar school and as the first school in Manchester. The school grounds slowly expanded for over 400 years until 1931, when the school successfully raised a sum to move its premises from a now over-crowded site in the centre of Manchester to its much larger present site at Rusholme. In accordance with its founder's wishes, MGS remains a predominantly academic school and belongs to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. In the post-war period, MGS was a direct-grant grammar school. It chose to become an independent school in 1976 after the Labour government abolished the Direct Grant System. Fees for 2023–2024 were £15,180 per annum.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
