A
visit to the Hanover Museum in Lucea, Jamaica, will show the inside of
the Colonial Jail and one can almost feel the pain that stained the
walls.
The Museum is located in what was formerly the
Hanover Workhouse, a two-story structure that was built of cut stone,
about 12″ thick that was transported from England as ship’s ballast. It
is uncertain when this workhouse was built but there are references to
it at the time of the Hanover Conspiracy, an attempted slave uprising in
1776.
The Hanover Workhouse
consisted of four rooms, a jailor’s house and, on an upper level, two
“apartments” for debtors. It served as a place of incarceration for male
and female slaves who were held there for a variety of offences.
(According to one of the storyboards, one woman said she was there for
having too many children — eight.) Some were also sent to the workhouse
to be ‘broken in’ upon arrival in Jamaica.
The tour begins in
the main area that is said to have held up to 50 people. Off this area
is a cell with a concrete bed that runs the length of the room, almost
filling it. About 3 feet off the floor, the bed had a pillow — of
concrete — and reportedly slept up to 15 prisoners. Seeing this bed,
one’s mind would drift to the words from Bob Marley’s…..“Cold ground was
my bed last night, and rock was my pillow too” …from Talking Blues.
The Museum is located in what was formerly the Hanover Workhouse, a two-story structure that was built of cut stone, about 12″ thick that was transported from England as ship’s ballast. It is uncertain when this workhouse was built but there are references to it at the time of the Hanover Conspiracy, an attempted slave uprising in 1776.
The Hanover Workhouse consisted of four rooms, a jailor’s house and, on an upper level, two “apartments” for debtors. It served as a place of incarceration for male and female slaves who were held there for a variety of offences. (According to one of the storyboards, one woman said she was there for having too many children — eight.) Some were also sent to the workhouse to be ‘broken in’ upon arrival in Jamaica.
The tour begins in the main area that is said to have held up to 50 people. Off this area is a cell with a concrete bed that runs the length of the room, almost filling it. About 3 feet off the floor, the bed had a pillow — of concrete — and reportedly slept up to 15 prisoners. Seeing this bed, one’s mind would drift to the words from Bob Marley’s…..“Cold ground was my bed last night, and rock was my pillow too” …from Talking Blues.
No comments:
Post a Comment