The Parade, Kingston, Jamaica

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The Parade, Kingston, Jamaica.
 
This was the Main Square of the City of Kingston, first laid out in 1694. The formal Victorian Gardens were designed and planted in 1887 in honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria during her Golden Jubilee. The imposing 19th Century Gothic Revival Church facing The Parade is the Coke Methodist Chapel. From an Original Photograph, c. 1890. Private Collection.

 

The Parade, Kingston, Jamaica.

Showing the Coke Methodist Chapel. From an Original Photograph, c. 1875. Private Collection.

Compare this to Dr. Gulland's photograph of The Parade in 1865, when it was still being used as a Parade Ground and was completely devoid of Trees and Grass. The Parade Garden seen here was actually laid out shortly after the Capital was moved from Spanish Town to Kingston in 1872.

 

The Parade, Kingston, Jamaica.

 

Looking North from the Clock Tower of the Kingston Anglican Parish Church. From a Photograph by an Unknown Photographer, c. 1880. Collection: Raymond Brandon.

This Late 19th Century Photograph of The Parade, Kingston taken about 1880 is almost identical in every detail to J. B. Kidd's famous Early 19th Century Lithograph of The Parade, Kingston during the late 1830s. The only difference is the Parade Garden which was first laid out about 1873, shortly after the Capital was moved from Spanish Town to Kingston in 1872. The monument in the foreground is the statue of His Excellency Sir Charles Metcalfe, later 1st Baron Metcalfe (1785-1846) who was British Governor of Jamaica from 1839 to 1842. It was moved in 1887 to make way for a statue of Her Majesty Queen Victoria and it now stands at the southern end of King Street overlooking Kingston Harbour.

 

The Parade and upper part of Kingston, Jamaica from the Church and looking towards the Port Royal Mountains. From a Hand-Coloured Lithograph by Joseph Bartholomew Kidd, 1838.

Private Collection.

 

Parade Gardens/Victoria Park looking east towards Coke Methodist Church, where the statue of Queen Victoria stood facing the park.

Photograph Circa 1920s. Private Collection

 

A View of The Parade, Kingston, Jamaica.

 

Looking South towards the Kingston Anglican Parish Church from the Barracks. This was the main square of the City of Kingston used as a Parade Ground by both British Troops and the Kingston Militia until the 1870s, hence its name. The square was ringed with important Public Buildings including the Theatre, the Barracks and the Kingston Anglican Parish Church.

 

It was also where Kingston High Society promenaded on horseback and in their carriages in the cool of the evenings just before sunset. In 1887, to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, The Parade was finally landscaped with trees, formal gardens, fountains and a marble statue of Queen Victoria and was renamed Victoria Park. The historic Kingston Anglican Parish Church, which dates back to the late 17th Century can be seen in the background to the left. It contains many important 18th Century monuments including a very famous one to Admiral Benbow who died in 1702.

 

From a Photograph by Dr. Alexander Dudgeon Gulland, M.D., 1865. Collection: Firestone Library, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.