This marvelous estate sits high on a hill 11km east of Ironshore. While the region's main attraction is Rose Hall, visiting Greenwood is a far more intimate and, frankly, interesting experience. The furnishings are more authentic, the tour less breakneck than Rose Hall's, and there’s none of the silly ghost stories – although the exterior edifice is admittedly not as impressive.
Construction of the two-story, stone-and-timber structure was begun in 1780 by the Honorable Richard Barrett, whose family arrived in Jamaica in the 1660s and amassed a fortune from its sugar plantations. (Barrett was a cousin of the famous English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.) In an unusual move for his times, Barrett educated his slaves.
Unique among local plantation houses, Greenwood survived unscathed during the slave rebellion of Christmas 1831. The original library is still intact, as are oil paintings, Dresden china, a court-jester’s chair and plentiful antiques, including a mantrap used for catching runaway slaves (one of the few direct references we found in any Jamaican historical home to the foundations of the plantation labor market, ie slavery). Among the highlights is the rare collection of musical instruments, containing a barrel organ and two polyphones, which the guide is happy to bring to life. The view from the front balcony down to the sea is stunning.
