Clarendon () is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. It is located on the south of the island, roughly halfway between the island's eastern and western ends. Located in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, it is bordered by

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on the west, Saint Catherine in the east, and in the north by

Saint Ann According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

. Its capital and largest town is

May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica, Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river, and is a major market centre for the parish. The popula ...

History

Clarendon was named in honour of the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

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 ...

: 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, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parishes of Jamaica set up by

Sir Thomas Modyford Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st Baronet (c. 1620 – 1 September 1679) was a planter of Barbados and Governor of Jamaica from 1664 to 1671. Early life Modyford was the son of a mayor of Exeter with family connections to the Duke of Albemarle ...

in 1664, and it has been reorganized numerous times since. Parish registers, which are records kept by the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

of religious events such as

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

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 km², Clarendon ranks as Jamaica's third largest parish. The parish is predominantly a wide

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, 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 ...

, marked by several

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

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 southernm ...

, which runs the length of the parish. Toward the northern end of the parish lies the Mocho Mountains (2000 ft), and Bull Head Mountain 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

, is on a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in Clarendon that 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 Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly ...

on the eastern side of the peninsula. With a population at an estimated 253,462 in 2015, Clarendon is one of the most populous parishes in the island. May Pen, the capital, has a population estimated at around 77,549.

Notable towns

* Chapelton *

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

* Frankfield * Mattinee * Lionel Town *

* 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 us ...

* Rocky Point * Smithville

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 (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

, Jamaica's major mineral source, can be found extensively in Clarendon.

Bauxite mining 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 (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

has been established in the parish by JAMALCO and

ALCOA Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American 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 alu ...

. 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 of ''Pimenta dioica'', a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm par ...

(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 and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, livestock,

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

, 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 trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

packing centre, famous for 'Trout Hall' oranges. Additionally,

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the 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) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...

, and

copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...

have been carried on intermittently, and the

sugar-cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of 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 that are rich in suc ...

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 is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts ( cheque accounts), credit ...

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 (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

famous for the

therapeutic A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications an ...

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 Vernam Field (locally spelled Vernamfield) is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield located in Clarendon Parish, west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. The airfield was renamed Vernam Air Force Base by the newly formed United ...

(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, mos ...

. * The Woodleigh racetrack outside of May Pen is known for

dirtbike In the market, there is a wide variety of types of motorcycles, each with unique characteristics and features. Models vary according to the specific needs of each user, such as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', '' ...

racing. * It is the home of the New Yarmouth, Sevens Estate and Moneymusk Sugar factories.

Politics

Clarendon Parish elects six MPs to the

Parliament of Jamaica The Parliament of Jamaica () is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. Officially, they are known as the Houses of Parliament. It consists of three elements: The Monarchy of Jamaica, Crown (represented by the Govern ...

. *

Clarendon Central Clarendon Central 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. The constituency is located at the c ...

Clarendon Northern Clarendon Northern 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. T ...

Clarendon North Central Clarendon North Central 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 Pa ...

Clarendon North Western Clarendon North 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 First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choos ...

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 *

Notable people

Dennis Alcapone Dennis Alcapone, born Dennis Smith, is a Jamaican reggae Deejay (Jamaican), DJ and Record producer, producer. In 2018, he received the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation from Andrew Holness.Johnson, Richard (2018)'Clean up your act!'", ''Ja ...

(born 1947), reggae DJ and producer * Michael Allen (born 1964), Canadian football player *

Rodolph Austin Rodolph William Austin (born 1 June 1985) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portmore United. He is renowned as a tough tackling central midfielder who can play in attacking and central midfield as well as a cen ...

(born 1985), footballer *

Davina Bennett Davina Bennett (born 5 March 1996) is a Jamaican model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Jamaica Universe 2017. She represented Jamaica at the Miss Universe 2017 pageant where she was placed second runner-up and the first black woman t ...

(born 1996), model,

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on 26 November 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa as Miss Unive ...

Top 3 * Michael Blackwood (born 1976), athlete * Simon Brown (born 1963), boxer *

Cocoa Tea Colvin George Scott (3 September 1959 – 11 March 2025), better known as Cocoa Tea, was a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter. Life and career Born in the fishing village of Rocky Point, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica on 3 September 1959, Cocoa ...

, born Calvin George Scott (born 1959),

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

singer *

Rohan Davey Rohan St. Patrick Davey (born April 14, 1978) is a Jamaican-born former professional 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 life Davey attende ...

(born 1978), American football quarterback * R. James deRoux (1930-2012), Businessman and longest serving Custos 1981-2011 * Lacena Golding-Clarke (born 1975), 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,

(1931–2022), actress * Dalton Harris (born 1993), singer *

Toots Hibbert Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020) 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 performed for six decades and ...

(1942–2020), 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 (1703/04–1784), heiress and plantation owner *

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. Biography Howard was the ...

(1628–1685), 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 o ...

(1898–1981), 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 ...

(born 1969), boxer *

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson Order of Distinction, OD (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poetry, dub poet and activist. In 2002, he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in th ...

(born 1952), poet * Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (born 1952), mother of Stephen Lawrence *

Stephen Lawrence Stephen Adrian Lawrence (13September 1974 – 22April 1993) was an 18-year-old black British citizen from Plumstead, southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road, Eltham, on the ...

(1974–1993), murdered in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, 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 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, buried in Clarendon *

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist from Clarendon, Jamaica. Career In 1977, Levy formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bla ...

(born 1964), 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 W ...

(born 1965), Canadian sprinter *

Freddie McGregor Fredrick "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 ...

(born 1956), singer *

Claude McKay Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay OJ (September 15, 1890See Wayne F. Cooper, ''Claude McKay, Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance'' (New York, Schocken, 1987) p. 377 n. 19. As Cooper's authoritative biography explains, McKay's family predate ...

(1890–1948), 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 ti ...

, born in James Hill *

Liz Mitchell Elizabeth Rebecca Pemberton-Mitchell (born 12 July 1952) is a British singer, best known as one of the original singers of the 1970s disco and reggae band Boney M. Mitchell now lives in Reading, UK. Early life Mitchell was born in the paris ...

, of

Boney M. Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

(born 1952), singer *

Derrick Morgan Derrick Morgan OD (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", ''Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He w ...

(born 1940), musical artist * Raphael Morgan (Robert Josias Morgan) (c. 1866–1922), 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-pag ...

priest in the U.S. *

OMI Omi or OMI may refer to: Organisations * Optical Mechanics, Inc., a US telescope company * Ottico Meccanica Italiana, an Italian company * Original Musical Instrument Company, manufacturers of resonator guitars * Open Music Initiative, a digital ...

(born 1986), reggae singer *

Levi Roots Keith Valentine Graham (born 24 June 1958), better known as Levi Roots, is a Jamaican-British businessman and celebrity chef who came to prominence on the fourth series of the British TV show ''Dragons' Den'' successfully pitching his Reggae R ...

(born 1958), born Keith Valentine Graham, singer, chef * Catherine Scott (born 1973), athlete *

Jah Shaka Jah Shaka ( – 12 April 2023), also known as the Zulu Warrior, was a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who operated a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the ...

(died 2023), sound system operator *

Millie Small Millicent Dolly May Small Order of Distinction, CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer who is best known for her international hit "My Boy Lollipop" (1964). The song reached number two in both the UK Singles Chart, UK and ...

(1947–2020), 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 DJ and toaster who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s danc ...

(born 1963), DJ * Roger Thompson (born 1991), Canadian soccer player

References

External links

Clarendon

{{Authority control 1664 establishments in Jamaica Parishes of Jamaica Populated places established in 1664