Clarendon is a
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. It is located on the south of the island, roughly halfway between the island's eastern and western ends. Located in the county of Middlesex, it is bordered by
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
on the west,
Saint Catherine in the east, and in the north by
Saint Ann
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come ...
. Its capital and largest town is
May Pen.
History
![Lionel Town Pool, looking upstream towards the mineral spring](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Lionel_Town_Pool%2C_looking_upstream_towards_the_mineral_spring.png)
Clarendon was named in honour of the
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
Sir Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon. The most recent parish was formed from a combination of three
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
: St. Dorothy's, Vere and the old parish of Clarendon. Before the merger, the capital was
Chapelton. Clarendon Parish was one of the original seven
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
parishes of Jamaica set up by
Sir Thomas Modyford in 1664, and it has been reorganized numerous times since.
Parish registers
A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...
, which are
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
kept by the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of religious events such as
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
s, marriages, and burials, are still extant from Clarendon parish almost as far back as its foundation, with the first recorded baptism dated in 1666.
Geography and population
Covering an area of 1,196 km
2, Clarendon ranks as Jamaica's third largest parish. The parish is predominantly a wide
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
, marked by several
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s, including the
Rio Minho
The Rio Minho is the longest river in Jamaica at . It rises close to the island's geographic centre, flows generally south-southwest and reaches the Caribbean Sea at Carlisle Bay in the central south coast, to the west of the island's southernmo ...
, which runs the length of the parish. Toward the northern end of the parish lies the
Mocho Mountains
The Mocho Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Jamaica. It has been described as the "geographical center of Jamaica."
The area was historically a site for bauxite mining, which led to deforestation
Deforestation or forest cle ...
, (2000 ft), and
Bull Head Mountain
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
range (2800 ft), which is considered to be the geographical centre of the island. The Vere plain is another significant geographical feature.
Portland Point, the southernmost point of
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, is on a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
in Clarendon which also hosts
Portland Point Lighthouse. On the same peninsula are Jackson Bay beach, the flood-prone community of Portland Cottage, and two different locations both called Rocky Point: a residential community on the western side of the peninsula, and a port used primarily for the export of
alumina on the eastern side of the peninsula.
With a population at an estimated 246,322,
Clarendon is one of the most populous parishes in the island. May Pen, the capital, has a population estimated at around 60,000.
Notable towns
*
Chapelton
*
Hayes
*
Frankfield
Frankfield is a town in the parish of Clarendon in central Jamaica. It is located near the top of Jamaica's central ridge of mountains overlooking the south coast. The Rio Minho river runs through the town in a shallow gorge.UK Directorate of ...
*
Lionel Town
*
May Pen
*
Palmers Cross
*
Race Course
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
*
Rocky Point
Economy
Bauxite
Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
, Jamaica's major mineral source, can be found extensively in Clarendon. Bauxite mining has been established in the parish by JAMALCO and
ALCOA
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
. Most of the island's tobacco is also grown in Clarendon, along with cotton,
allspice
Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry (botany), berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a Canopy (forest), midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, ...
(colloquially referred to as pimento),
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
, livestock,
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
, bananas, coffee, and
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
. May Pen is also an important
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
packing centre, famous for 'Trout Hall' oranges. Additionally,
dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...
,
fish farming
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
, and
copper mining
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...
have been carried on intermittently, and the
sugar-cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks ...
production contributes significantly to the amount of sugar exported annually. The Denbigh agricultural showground is on the outskirts of May Pen.
One of the top ten
credit unions
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provision ...
in Jamaica,
GSB Co-operative Credit Union has a branch here.
Clarendon is the location of the
Milk River Bath
Milk River Bath is mineral spa in the South West corner of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Owned by the Government of Jamaica since its opening in 1794, it now has about 6 public baths and a hotel with about 20 bedrooms. It claims that its warm waters ...
, a mineral
spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
famous for the
therapeutic
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
value of its waters. The oldest church on the island is in Alley, the old capital of Vere.
Halse Hall Great House is one of the island's historic houses. The land on which the house stands was given to an English officer, Major Thomas Halse, in 1655, and was passed from him to Francis Sadler Halse. Halse played a leading role in the Maroon Wars.
The Denbigh Agricultural Show Grounds – once a year, on the weekend prior to Independence celebrations, a national Agriculture Show is staged here.
Vernamfield was the first car-racing track established in Jamaica. The track is located on the former American lend lease air base,
Vernam Field (later Vernam Air Force Base) that was named in honor of World War I flyer
Remington de B. Vernam. Vernam Field is known for
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
.
* The Woodleigh racetrack outside of May Pen is known for
dirtbike
The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...
racing.
* It is the home of the New Yarmouth, Sevens Estate and Moneymusk Sugar factories.
Politics
Clarendon Parish elects 6 MPs to the
Parliament of Jamaica
The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It consists of three elements: The Crown (represented by the Governor-General), the appointed Senate and the directly elected House of Representatives.
The S ...
.
*
Clarendon Central
*
Clarendon Northern
*
Clarendon North Central
Clarendon North Central is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Jamaica, Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament, Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system ...
*
Clarendon North Western
*
Clarendon South Eastern Clarendon South East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is located in Clarendon Parish. ...
*
Clarendon South Western Clarendon South Western is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is located in Clarendon Pari ...
Places of interest
*
Halse Hall Great House
*
Milk River Bath
Milk River Bath is mineral spa in the South West corner of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Owned by the Government of Jamaica since its opening in 1794, it now has about 6 public baths and a hotel with about 20 bedrooms. It claims that its warm waters ...
*
Rio Minho
The Rio Minho is the longest river in Jamaica at . It rises close to the island's geographic centre, flows generally south-southwest and reaches the Caribbean Sea at Carlisle Bay in the central south coast, to the west of the island's southernmo ...
*
Vernam Field
Notable people
*
Dennis Alcapone
Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith, 6 August 1947, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer.
Career
Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services.Interview with Aad van der Hoek in London, England, ...
, reggae DJ and producer
*
Michael Allen, Canadian football player
*
Rodolph Austin
Rodolph William Austin (born 1 June 1985) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
He is renowned as a tough tackling central midfielder who can play in attacking and central midfield as well as a central defender.
He b ...
, footballer
*
Davina Bennett, model,
Miss Universe 2017
Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 26, 2017.
At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Af ...
Top 3
*
Michael Blackwood
*
Simon Brown, boxer
*
Cocoa Tea
Calvin George Scott (born 3 September 1959), better known as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.
Biography
Born in Rocky Point, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Cocoa Tea was popular in Jamaica from 1985, but has become success ...
, born Calvin George Scott,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
singer
*
Rohan Davey
Rohan St. Patrick Davey (born April 14, 1978) is a Jamaican-born former American football quarterback. He won two Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots, as the backup to Tom Brady in 2003 and 2004.
Early years
Davey attended Hialeah-M ...
, American football quarterback
*
Lacena Golding-Clarke, sprinter
*
Mona Hammond
Mona Hammond (born Mavis Chin; 1 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was a Jamaican-British actress and co-founder of the Talawa Theatre Company. Born in Tweedside, Jamaica,
*
Dalton Harris
Dalton Harris (born 29 December 1993) is a Jamaican singer. In 2010, he won ''Digicel Rising Star'', and subsequently signed with VP Records. In 2018, he won the final season of '' The X Factor'' in the United Kingdom.
Early and personal life
...
, singer
*
Toots Hibbert
Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perform ...
, singer of
Toots & The Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
...
*
Elizabeth Home, Countess of Home
*
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle (162824 February 1685) was an English military leader and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1660 and was created Earl of Carlisle in 1661.
Howard was the son and ...
, governor of Jamaica from 1678–1680
*
Leonard Howell
Leonard Percival Howell (16 June 1898 – 23 January 1981), also known as The Gong or G.G. Maragh (for ''Gangun Guru''), was a Jamaican religious figure. According to his biographer Hélène Lee, Howell was born into an Anglican family. He was one ...
, founder of Rastafari, born in Clarendon 1898
*
Glen Johnson
Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back.
Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was ...
, boxer
*
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...
, poet
*
Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, mother of Stephen Lawrence
*
Stephen Lawrence
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
, murdered in
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1993, buried in Clarendon
*
Barrington Levy
Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist.
Career
Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bl ...
, singer
*
Atlee Mahorn
Atlee Anthony Mahorn (born 27 October 1965) is a three-time Canadian Olympic and four-time World Championship sprinter. He won Bronze medals in the 200 metres at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo and the 4 x 100 metre relay at the 1993 ...
, Canadian sprinter
*
Freddie McGregor
Freddie McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old.
Biography
In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The C ...
, singer
*
Claude McKay, part of the
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
, born in James Hill
*
Liz Mitchell
Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza.
People
* Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), P ...
, of
Boney M.
Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...
*
Derrick Morgan
*
Raphael Morgan (Robert Josias Morgan), missionary and first Black
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
priest in the United States
*
OMI, reggae singer
*
Levi Roots, born Keith Valentine Graham, singer, chef
*
Catherine Scott
*
Jah Shaka
Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...
*
Millie Small
Millicent Dolly May Small CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who is best known for her 1964 hit " My Boy Lollipop". The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million ...
, singer and songwriter, best known for
My Boy Lollipop
"My Boy Lollipop" (originally "My Girl Lollypop") is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in 1956 by American ...
*
Super Cat
William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...
*
Roger Thompson, Canadian footballer
References
External links
Clarendon
{{Authority control
Parishes of Jamaica
1664 establishments in Jamaica
Populated places established in 1664