A cool town in Manchester...

Coming from the direction Black River the road is meandering uphill to the capital of Manchester.
Along this road on several places you can enjoy a splendid view over the valley. When you are on the top in the end you will reach Mandeville, about the highest situated town in Jamaica.

English colonists
Almost immediately attracting attention is the fact that Mandeville is relatively cool.
The town is situated 610 meters above sea level on the flanks of the Don Figuerero Mountains and during the summer the average temperature is "only" 21 degrees Celsius.
And exactly that's why English colonists sought this town when the heat in the valley became too much for them.


In the meantime Mandeville is not that British anymore. Of course besides Jamaicans many Americans, working in the bauxite-industry, live here.
The bauxite is an important source of revenues for the town. The "bauxite lake" near the foot of Shooter's Hill is the proof that the bauxite-industry is fully alive.

Lord Mandeville
The town was founded in about 1816 and is called after Lord Mandeville, son of the governor of Manchester.
In the first instance the town developed into a place for rich Kingstonians and pensioned British.
Most of them were busy with the cultivation of citrus fruit and pimento. Only in 1940 Alcan started with the exploitation of bauxite and Mandeville became an important link in the Jamaican economy.

Mandeville cannot be called a real touristy place. Nevertheless the town is worth to be visited. The town counts many interesting buildings under which Mandeville Courthouse on Mandeville Square on the north side of the British locking Cecil Charlton Park. On the other side of the park you can find St. Mark's Church, a most charming little church.

Fruits
The environment is beautiful too.
In the hills around the town a lot of fruit nurseries are situated. Mainly oranges and mandarins are cultivated here but also the "ortanique", a cross between an orange and a mandarin, can be find here. This fruit looks unsightly but it tastes delicious.


Hot sauce
To have more sweets you only need to drive a little stretch to Shooter's Hill. At the foot of the hill you find the Pickapeppa Factory, famous because of the sauce having the same name. It looks like the English Worcestershire Sauce but according the Jamaicans it tastes (of course) much nicer.
There is a possibility of a guided tour of about 30 minutes.
Besides that Shooter's Hill offers more. Climbing up the hill offers, besides fantastic views, the grave of Alexander Woodburn Heron, once the owner of the land that now is owned by Alcan.

In the direct environment of the town many impressing Great Houses can be seen. Bloomfield Great House and Marshall's Penn are examples and it is worthwhile to look for these.

Mandeville presents another view on Jamaica. Just no working-up reggae or white sand beaches but a historical town in a splendid environment.