English Place Names In Jamaica | Popular places named by the British in Jamaica

by Shantae

This question provided us the wonderful opportunity to provide some quite interesting and insightful information that I hope Shantae, and indeed all others who will be reading in the future, will find quite helpful.

Here's the question...

RESPONSE: by Wellesley Gayle



Hi Shantae. Thank you for your request and I will be happy to provide you with as much information as possible.

Have you ever wondered how did that place in Jamaica got its name?
I did too!

And yes we also have some of the most unusual place names anywhere in the word :-)

Well, the 'not so much' secret is that Jamaica was a Spanish colony originally and then became a British or English colony (in 1655) until Independence in 1962. That's well over 300 years by my quick calculation.

And as such, the names of many places in Jamaica, especially English names, comes as no surprise.

Many of these names represent places back in Britain but some also capture the names of esteemed public (government) figures and landowners, living in Jamaica as well as back in England.

So to answer your question, I'll be looking at the most popular English place names in Jamaica by county and then by parish.

Ready?

By the way, did you know that Jamaica has three counties?
And guess what, all three (still) have English names!

Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey.

And yes, all these places can be found in England today and also exist as counties!

Let's start with..

CORNWALL COUNTY

• Hanover
  
  Blenheim, Lucea, Fort Charlotte (now Rusea’s High), Kenilworth,
  Belvidere Estate, Chester Castle, Askenish, Sandy Bay, Green Island,
  Hopewell
  
  
• St. James
  
  Barrett Hall, Granville, Garlands, Cambridge, Bickersteth, Catadupa,
  Charlton, Chatham, Flamstead, Glasgow, Guilsbro, Hampton, Hermitage,
  Reading, Roxbro, Somerton,Wiltshire, Vaughnsfield, Providence,
  Roehampton, Montpelier
  
  
• Westmoreland
  
  Darliston, Hompeton, Frome, Petersfield, Pennycooke
  
  
• Trelawny
  
  Falmouth, Batersea, Belmont Castle, Belmore Castle, Barnstaple,
  Biddeford, Bristol,Cambridge, Coxheath, Hampstead, Gibraltar, Kettering,
  Lancaster, Litchfield, Oxford,Sherwood Content, Troy, Windsor, Tyre,
  Albert Town, Swanswick,
  
  
  
• St. Elizabeth
  
  North Hampton, South Hampton, Balaclava, Southfield, Elderslie,
  Bellevue, Portsea,Malvern, Lacovia, Brampton, Brompton, Croydon,
  Holland, Leeds, Warminster
  
  

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

• Clarendon
  
  Chapleton, Arthur’s Seat, Amity Hall, Bailleston, Balcarres, Beacham
  Cottage, Belmont,British, Brixton Hill, Brobridge, Carlisle,
  Chesterfield, Cumberland, Denbigh, Frankfield,
  Heathfield, Inverness, Leicesterfield, Rowington, Rymesbury, Suttons,
  Wakefield, York, Yarmouth
  
  
• Manchester
  
  Barnstaple, Arcadia, Chelsea, Chudleigh, Newport, Newark, Fairfield,
  Plowden, Port Mahon, Hopewell, Huntley, Hermitage, Hanbury, Halifax,
  Hatfield, Kendal, Walderston, Warwick, Williamsfield, Marlborough,
  Maidstone
  
  
• St. Ann
  
  Aboukir, Aberdeen, Alderton, Armadale, Brittonville, Brunswick,
  Buckfield, Camperdown, Cascade, Cardiff Hall, Cave Hill,
  Clarksonville, Cranbrook, Essex, Gibraltar, Gloucester Hall,
  Grierfield, Kensington, Knutsford, Lydford, New England, Queenhyte,
  Scarborough,Salisbury, Sussex, Weymouth, Windsor, Woolwich, Woodbury
  
  
• St. Catherine
  
  Hellshire, Ewarton, Portmore, Linstead, Riversdale, Banbury,
  Berkshire, Berwick, Chatworth, Crawle, Edbury, Everton, Fort
  Henderson, Greenwhich, Highgate, Innswood, Oxford, Sligoville,
  Twickenham Park, Worcester
  
  
• St. Mary
  
  Ballards Valley, charlottenburgh, Chatsworth, Fort George,Greenwood,
  Green Castle,Haddersfield, Huddersfield, Highgate, Koningsburgh,
  Reddington, Wallingford, Windsor Castle
  

SURREY COUNTY

• Kingston
  
  Port Royal, Rollington Town, Newport East, Bournemouth Gardens,
  Denham Town, Allman Town, Fletcher’s Town, Franklin Town
  
  
• Portland
  
  Burlington, Durham, Fairfield, Ipswich, Islington, Kensington,
  Kildare, Lennox,Marlborough Castle, Melrose, Monmouth, Norwich,
  St. Margaret’s Bay, Sherwood Forest, Shrewsbury, Windsor Castle
  
  
• St. Andrew
  
  New Castle, Barbican, Belvedere, Bideford, Bloxburgh, Castleton,Charlton, Chestervale, Flamstead, Hillsborough, Middleton, Rockingham, Swallowfield
  
  
• St. Thomas
  Albion, Arcadia, Bariff Castle, Belford, Bowden, Buckingham, Boxford
  Lodge, Chesterfield, Duckenfield, Easington, Edinburgh Castle,
  Glasgow, Heart Ease, Highland Castle, Ness Castle, Rowlandsfield,
  Seaforth, Thornton, Wilmington, Winchester
  

Whew! And this list is just a feature of some of the most popular ones. I put it to you that the majority of places in Jamaica still has an English association.

And one thing that might surprise you too is the fact that several parishes share similar local place names.

For example, Hopeton. It is one of those places that seems to be in almost every parish!

So yeah, just in case someone had any question or doubt about which imperial power had the most impact on Jamaica.

Well, let's just say that the place names say it all!

But thank you again Shantae. I hope this information was helpful.
For a more comprehensive list, be sure to read the places names in Jamaica by ethnic association. You'll like it :-)

Regards,
DC

P.S. See also: Spanish Place Names In Jamaica.

Editor's Note
What's your question? Submit it here! With well over 2,000 questions answered, yes we likely can help you :-)


References:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Jamaica
  
• http://www.fallingrain.com/world/JM/
  
• https://nlj.gov.jm/place-names-in-jamaica/
  

Back To The Top Of This Page

New! Get My Latest Book👇🏿

See The Best Of Jamaica - In Videos!

Read More ...

---

---

Back To The Top Of This Page

NEW! JOIN MY PATREON COMMUNITY! Click Here For Details.