Lyssons is a largely residential community located in the parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica. It lies east of the capital,

Morant Bay Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica and the capital of the parish of St. Thomas, located about 25 miles east of Kingston, the capital. The parish has a population of 94,410. During the nineteenth century, the parish was an area of sug ...

, and neighbors the communities of Retreat,

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

and

Leith Hall Leith Hall is a country house in Kennethmont, Scotland, Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was built in 1650, on the site of the medieval Peill Castle, and was the home of the Leith-Hay family for nearly three centuries. Since 1945 it has ...

Brief history

Lyssons is named after Nicholas Lycence, who was the member for St. Thomas in the East in the

Jamaican Assembly The House of Assembly was the legislature of the British colony of Jamaica. It held its first meeting on 20 January 1664 at Spanish Town. Cundall, Frank. (1915''Historic Jamaica''.London: Institute of Jamaica. p. 15. As a result of the Morant ...

from 1671 to 1672. The Lyssons Estate was a sugar plantation located in Lyssons which was owned by Simon Taylor, who was once the wealthiest sugar planter in the Colony 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 ...

and one of the wealthiest men in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in the eighteenth century. Simon Taylor was considered one of the most influential men in the parish and was member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

for St. Thomas in the East from 1784 until 1810. He was the brother of Sir John Taylor, who was the 1st Baronet of Lyssons Hall.

Current day

The Princess Margaret Hospital is located on the A4 coast road between

and Lyssons. It was officially opened and named by Her Royal Highness, Princess Margaret on February 23, 1955, replacing the Morant Bay Hospital, which was badly damaged by

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Hurricane Frances, Frances, Hurricane Ivan, Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne, Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to ...

on August 17, 1951. It is the only hospital in the parish of St. Thomas and also serves residents of eastern

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and eastern

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

Attractions

Lysson's Beach can be accessed directly from the coast road between Lyssons and

. It was upgraded in 2018 as part of the Tourism Enhancement Fund's National Beach Development Programme. Renovations include an upgrade of the sewage system, rehabilitation of the lower driveway, parking area and restrooms, and construction of gazebos, walkways, lifeguard stands, a guard house and an outdoor shower area.

Education

* Lyssons Primary School

References

{{coord, 17, 52, 43, N, 76, 22, 50, W, display=title, region:JM_type:city Populated places in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica