Rose Hall Great House

Perhaps one of the most famous great houses in Jamaica is Rose Hall, in the parish of St James and around 15 minutes from Montego Bay, Jamaica’s second city and home to Norman Manley airport, where most tourists to the island disembark.

Its infamy is due to one of the occupants, Annie Palmer, also known as the White Witch of Rose Hall. She is reputed to have murdered three husbands and buried them on the beach a short distance from the great house.

The house was bought in 1965 and renovated in the 1970s by an American couple Michele and John Rollins. It now operates as a tourist attraction with the renovated great house containing reproduction furniture, fixtures and fittings.

There are two original pieces in the property: a bell-pull and Annie Palmer’s chaise lounge.

From the perspective of the Leer Futuro project, the most exciting area of the house remains outside and in the underground dungeon area, where the gift shop, toilets and a pub are situated.

This area features the original coral cobbles and is where slaves were brought down for punishment, receiving no food or water and left to rot and die. During this month-long visit, I visited Rose Hall once and took the tour, which takes you all around the house.