Seville Great House to be Refurbished

The Seville Great House in St. Ann is to be refurbished under a programme being undertaken by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT).

“The JNHT Board of Trustees has already indicated its intention to re-commence the maintenance programme for all sites owned or leased by the JNHT, and so the Seville Great House will be the first on the list,” said Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange.

She was addressing the media launch of  Seville Emancipation Jubilee 2016 at  Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort and Spa in St. Ann on July 7.

She said that the repair of the over 300-year old great house is part of the overall plan for the re-definition of the facility, which includes a heritage park.

“We are going to resuscitate more than the physical structure. We are going to place the Seville Great House at the centre of cultural activities of the parish, at the centre of the north coast stretching from St. Mary through St Ann, and onwards to Trelawny,”  she informed.

Minister Grange thanked the sponsors of the Emancipation Jubilee for their generosity and commitment to the development of culture.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, in her remarks, welcomed the 19^th staging of the Emancipation Jubilee.

The Minister, who is Member of Parliament for North East St Ann where the Seville Great House is located, noted the need for more cultural events to increase awareness among young people about their heritage.

“We have too many young persons who do not know from whence they came. They do not know who paid the price for them to be here today and I believe that we should really say to ourselves, in a place as historic as Seville, that we must do more. We must encourage more of this sort of involvement of young people,” she pointed out.