The Parish of Manchester 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 ...

located in west-central

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 ...

, in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Middlesex. Its

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

, 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.

History

Taino/

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Great ...

settlement in the parish was substantiated when in 1792, a surveyor found three carvings, believed to be

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

Zemi A zemi or cemi was a deity or ancestral spirit, and a sculptural object housing the spirit, among the Taíno people of the Caribbean.Bercht et al, 23 They were also created by indigenous South Americans.Bercht et al, 24 Theology Taíno religi ...

, in a cave in the Carpenter's Mountains. They are now at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Manchester was formed in 1814, by an Act 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 ...

, 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 Colonel William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester (21 October 177118 March 1843), styled Viscount Mandeville until 1788, was a British peer, soldier, colonial administrator and politician. He was Governor of Jamaica from 1808 to 1827, and Manches ...

, the then

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

worked on

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

plantations. After

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

, the ex-slaves became independent coffee farmers. The

irish potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

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 The tangor (''C. reticulata'' × ''C. sinensis'') is a citrus fruit hybrid of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata'') and the sweet orange (''Citrus sinensis''). The name "tangor" is a formation from the "tang" of tangerine and the "or" of " ...

, a cross between the

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

, was developed by Charles Jackson. Many of Jamaica's businesses were started in Mandeville; the Mandeville Hotel, one of the oldest in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, began operations in 1875. The first "Free Library" in Jamaica was established in 1938, and is the oldest Parish Library. MegaMart, Mandeville

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 An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

staff. The relatively high wages lured many

educated Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

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. 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.

Population

The population of Manchester is 190,812. Mandeville, the capital and chief town of the parish, has a

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, Donovan Mitchell and a deputy mayor, Rohan Kennedy It has a population of over 30,485.

Geography

Mandeville, the parish capital is located at

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

17°51'N,

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

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 above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

in the Carpenters Mountains. Manchester is divided into four political districts (constituencies): North-West, North-East, Central and Southern Manchester. Mile Gully Mountain, Manchester

Over 90% of the parish's surface is limestone so there is an abundance of cockpits,

sinkholes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

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). Smokey Hole Cave, in Cross Keys, is the deepest known cave on the island (194m). 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''. Manchester also has large

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 ...

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 Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...

and

scenery Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether the item was custom-made or ...

. The capital, Mandeville, is situated at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of . The town is noted for its climate, and

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

s range from a low of in December and January, to a high of in July and August. There are very few

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 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 A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

Commerce

There is no large-scale cultivation of

crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

as the area is generally

mountainous A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

. Crops such as

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 t ...

require large tracts of flat land.

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

and

pimento A pimiento or pimento (or cherry pepper) is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper (''Capsicum annuum'') that measures 3 to 4 in (7 to 10 cm) long and 2 to 3 in (5 to 7 cm) wide (medium, elongate). Pimientos can have vario ...

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropical America. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flav ...

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 ...

are grown, and the parish is noted for its

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 ...

;

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

s and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

, much of which are exported. Christiana, north of Mandeville, is the second largest

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of the parish. The Christiana Land Authority assists agricultural development in the region.

Irish potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

is grown considerably in the Christiana area and it is the centre of a large banana and ginger-growing district. Windalco, Alumina plant

Manchester is a centre of the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

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.

Television

* ZQI-TV (TVJ) Channel 13, Spur Tree, Jamaica, Hype TV, CVM, NCU Television (Ch. 188- Flow)

Special attractions

Captain Alexander Woodburn Heron's tomb at the top of Shooter's Hill, now called "Heron Hill" by the locals. Roxborough Estate is the birthplace of Jamaican National Hero and its first premier,

Norman Washington Manley Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only Premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate ...

Education

High schools

''Secondary high'' * Belair High * Bellefield High * Bishop Gibson High (girls) * Christiana High * Cross Keys High * DeCarteret College * Manchester High * May Day High * Mile Gully High * Mount St Joseph High School * New Forest High * Porus High * Winston Jones High ''Technical high'' * Holmwood Technical High ''Private high'' * Sacred Heart * St Michael's Institute * Beaumont High * Bethel Christian * Victor Dixon High

Universities

There are several notable tertiary institutions, the

Northern Caribbean University Northern Caribbean University (NCU) is a private, liberal-arts institution owned and operated by the Jamaica Union Conference (JAMU) and the Atlantic Caribbean Union Mission (ACUM) of Seventh-day Adventists, and is located in Jamaica. With its ma ...

(NCU), a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

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.

Notable people

Donovan Bailey Donovan Bailey (born December 16, 1967) is a retired Jamaican-Canadian sprinter. He once held the world record for the 100 metres. He recorded a time of 9.84 seconds to win the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. He was the first Canadian ...

, retired Olympic sprinter *

Annastasia Baker Annastasia Anneve Baker (born 16 November 1988) is a British Gospel singer, and song writer, Annastasia first caught the public eye as a contestant who progressed into the top six female singers in the judges round of the 2008 edition of The X ...

, UK based

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, R&B,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer and songwriter * Kemoy Campbell distance runner, athlete *

Nesta Carter Nesta Carter OD (born October 11, 1985) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres event. Carter was successful as part of the Jamaican 4 x 100 metres relay team, taking gold and setting successive world records at the 2 ...

, athlete *

Alexander Worthy Clerk Alexander Worthy Clerk (4 March 1820 – 11 February 1906) was a Jamaican Moravian pioneer missionary, teacher and clergyman who arrived in 1843 in the Danish Protectorate of Christiansborg, now Osu in Accra, Ghana, then known as the Go ...

, Moravian missionary to the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, now

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Ce'cile Ce'cile (also spelled Cécile, born Cecile Claudine Charlton on 24 February 1976 in Manchester Parish, Jamaica), is a Jamaican musician. She is among the best known current dancehall artists. Biography Ce'cile grew up in Porus, and Mile Gully, ...

, musician * Charmaine Crooks, Olympic

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

* Paul R. Cunningham, Jamaican American surgeon *

General Degree Cardiff Butt, better known as General Degree (or simply Degree) and later as Snapple Dapple, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and record producer. Biography Born in Manchester, Jamaica, Degree worked as a tailor before beginning his career in mus ...

, DJ *

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...

(born Dwight Arrington Myers),

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

* Derrick Evans, "Mr. Motivator", fitness instructor *

Ijahman Levi Ijahman Levi (born Trevor Sutherland: 21 June 1946 in Christiana, Manchester, Jamaica) is a reggae musician. In his early years, Levi was tutored by musician and vocal teacher, Joe Higgs.Harris, CraigArtist Biography by Craig Harris, ''Allmusi ...

, reggae musician * Luciano,

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 ...

musician *

(1893 - 1969), Jamaica's first Premier and one of Jamaica's National Heroes. *

Winston McAnuff Winston McAnuff, also known under the stage name Electric Dread (born 1957) is a Jamaican singer and composer of reggae and dub music. Life and career McAnuff was born in Manchester Parish, JamaicaCampbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)A New Day fo ...

musician *

Lovel Palmer Lovel Palmer (born 30 August 1984 in Mandeville) is a Jamaican footballer who currently plays as a defender and midfielder for the Des Moines Menace in the Premier Development League. Career Youth Palmer began his career with the St. Elizabe ...

, Jamaican and international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph OJ is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film '' A Piece of the Action'', before landing the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she received a ...

, actress and singer *

Tony Rebel Patrick George Anthony Barrett (born 15 January 1962), better known by his stage name Tony Rebel, is a Jamaican reggae deejay. Career Born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica, Barrett was initially a singer, appearing as Papa Tony or Tony Ranking in ...

, reggae musician *

Garnett Silk Garnett Silk (born Garnet Damion Smith; 2 April 1966 – 9 December 1994) was a Jamaican reggae musician and Rastafarian, known for his diverse, emotive, powerful and smooth voice. During the early 1990s he was hailed as a rising talent, howeve ...

musician *

Sherone Simpson Sherone Simpson (born 12 August 1984) is a Jamaican track and field sprint athlete.

, athlete *

Elaine Thompson Elaine Sandra-Lee Thompson-Herah OD ( née Thompson; born June 28, 1992) is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champ ...

, athlete * Christopher Williams, athlete

References

Manchester Parish Library

Statistical Institute of Jamaica

External links

Statin Jamaica
{{coord, 18, 03, N, 77, 32, W, display=title, region:JM_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki Parishes of Jamaica 1814 establishments in the British Empire