30-568: The Parish of Manchester is a parish located in west-central Jamaica , in the county of Middlesex. Its capital , Mandeville , is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Mandeville . Taino / Arawak settlement in the parish was substantiated when in 1792, a surveyor found three carvings , believed to be Amerindian Zemi , in
60-699: A cave in the Carpenter's Mountains. They are now at the British Museum . Manchester was formed in 1814, by an Act of the House of Assembly , making it one of the newest parishes of Jamaica. It was formed as a result of the amalgamation of portions of the parishes St. Elizabeth , Clarendon and the entirety of Vere. The amalgamation was done in response to a petition from the inhabitants of Mile Gully, May Pen and Carpenters Mountain who complained that they were too far away from an administrative centre. Manchester
90-634: A coast; none are landlocked. Following the English conquest of Jamaica the first phase of colonisation was carried out by the Army, with a system of Regimental plantations. These were drawn up on the southern flat lands, with the Regimental commanders charged with ordering their men to plant provisions. Certain key figures such as Luke Stokes (1656) and Thomas Modyford (1664) brought substantial numbers of colonists from other English colonies. In 1662
120-484: A deputy mayor, Rohan Kennedy It has a population of over 30,485. Mandeville, the parish capital is located at latitude 17°51'N, longitude 77°38'W. Manchester is bordered by St. Elizabeth in the west, Clarendon in the east and by Trelawny in the north. Manchester covers an area of 830 km, making it Jamaica's sixth-largest parish. It has three mountain ranges — the Carpenters Mountains,
150-525: A long tongue tipped with lingual papillae . Its skull is larger and more robust than most other Glossophagines, though. Fur is silky in texture. Dorsal fur is blond or light gold, while ventral fur is almost white. Its flight membranes are dark brown or almost black in color. It is a social species , living in colonies with other members of its species and other species of bat. Its colonies can number several hundred individuals. It depends on caves for roosting habitat, and cannot exist without them. Little
180-482: Is 8 mm (0.31 in). It has a disc-shaped, basic nose-leaf at the end of its snout . The fur is short, with individual hairs approximately 6 mm (0.24 in) long on its back and 4 mm (0.16 in) long on its belly. Its feet are very large in relation to its body, at 17 mm (0.67 in), and the uropatagium lacks a calcar . Like other members of the Glossophaginae subfamily, it has
210-502: Is currently evaluated as critically endangered by the IUCN . It meets the criteria for this evaluation because it is only known from two caves, the population size is estimated at fewer than 500 individuals, and its population size is likely in decline. The Jamaican flower bat used to occur in five or six caves, but now only occurs in two. Part of its decline in St. Clair Cave may be attributed to
240-523: Is known about its reproduction, though Goodwin 1970 reported finding a pregnant female in January, per McFarlane 1986. It eats fruit, pollen, nectar, and possibly insects. In 1965, a female individual was held in captivity for one month before dying, living on a diet of banana, papaya, mango, and canned fruit nectar. It is only found on Jamaica . It is currently only known to roost in four caves: Marta Tick Cave, Green Grotto Caves, Rock Spring Caverns and
270-411: Is no large-scale cultivation of crops as the area is generally mountainous . Crops such as sugar cane require large tracts of flat land. Bananas , coffee and pimento , annatto , ginger are grown, and the parish is noted for its citrus ; oranges , ortaniques and grapefruit , much of which are exported. Christiana, 28 km (17 mi) north of Mandeville, is the second largest town of
300-702: Is the longest of the over 100 caves in the parish, as well as the longest known cave in Jamaica (3505m). Smokey Hole Cave, in Cross Keys, is the deepest known cave on the island (194m). Oxford Cave, near Auchtembeddie, in the NW part of the parish, is another of the major speleological sites found in Manchester, and was once noted as a roosting site for the now possibly extinct bat species Phyllonycteris aphylla . Manchester also has large bauxite deposits, with parts of
330-640: The Manchester Local Sustainable Development Plan in 2007 to improve the community over the next 20 years. Captain Alexander Woodburn Heron's tomb at the top of Shooter's Hill, now called "Heron Hill" by the locals. Roxborough Estate is the birthplace of Jamaican National Hero and its first premier, Norman Washington Manley . Secondary high Technical high Private high There are several notable tertiary institutions,
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#1732776670161360-527: The Morant Bay rebellion led to the dissolution of the House of Assembly of Jamaica , and the colonial administration being turned into a crown colony . John Peter Grant was appointed Governor arriving in August 1866, and he set about instituting a number of reforms, including the administrative framework of the parishes. He introduced the by which the 22 existing parishes to 14 through the A Law to Reduce
390-777: The Northern Caribbean University (NCU), a Seventh-day Adventist institution, formerly called West Indies College, the Church Teacher's College, Mandeville, The Catholic College, Knox Community College, Cobbla and Mandeville Campuses. There are also other religious-based institutions located in the parish: Regent College of the Caribbean (the former Jamaica Bible College) as well as Bethel Bible College. 18°03′N 77°32′W / 18.050°N 77.533°W / 18.050; -77.533 Parishes of Jamaica The parishes of Jamaica are
420-583: The May Day Mountains, and the Don Figuerero Mountains. The highest point is 2,770 feet (840 m) above sea level in the Carpenters Mountains. Manchester is divided into four political districts (constituencies): North-West, North-East, Central and Southern Manchester. Over 90% of the parish's surface is limestone so there is an abundance of cockpits, sinkholes , caves and underground passages. Gourie Cave, near Christiana ,
450-454: The Number of Parishes (1867/No. 20) . Parishes have been a feature of local administration in Jamaica since the island was captured by the English in 1655. The number has varied over time and some no longer exist having either been absorbed into or divided between neighbouring parishes. At the peak, 1841–1865, there were 22 (the current 14 plus those listed below). The current set of parishes
480-404: The cleanest of them all. Mandeville boasts no fewer than 14 shopping centres, two hospitals (one public and one private), medical centres and many doctors. Next to Kingston , it provides the best medical services in the island, a major asset for tourism development. The population of Manchester is 190,812. Mandeville, the capital and chief town of the parish, has a Mayor , Donovan Mitchell and
510-656: The ex-slaves became independent coffee farmers. The irish potato was first introduced to Jamaica at Bethany, a town in the parish. Citrus also became an important crop, as in 1920, the citrus fruit ortanique , a cross between the orange and tangerine , was developed by Charles Jackson. Many of Jamaica's businesses were started in Mandeville; the Mandeville Hotel, one of the oldest in the Caribbean , began operations in 1875. The first "Free Library" in Jamaica
540-458: The family Phyllostomidae . It is endemic to Jamaica . It was described by American zoologist Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1898. He initially placed it in the genus Reithronycteris , which is now synonymous with Phyllonycteris . The specimen that he described was collected in Jamaica; the date of collection and the exact location are unknown. The type specimen used to describe the species has since been lost. Its species name aphylla
570-491: The first census was carried out. There were no parishes and the division of the island into ten districts. Under Governor Modyford the island was divided into precincts and parishes and he commissioned a map of the island featuring these. The first parishes were: By 1675, the following parishes had been added: In 1677, An Act for Regulating the Parishes fixed the boundaries of each parish. The crisis highlighted by
600-595: The largest population at Stony Hill Cave. Previously, a "sizeable colony"–the only one known for this species–roosted in St. Clair Cave, although the Jamaican flower bat is no longer found there. Per McFarlane 1986, Goodwin 1970 stated that the bat could be found in three caves: St. Clair Cave, Riverhead Cave, and Mt. Plenty Cave. Goodwin also stated that fossilized remains of the species had been found in Wallingford and Runaway Bay Caves. As of 2015, it
630-560: The main units of local government in Jamaica . They were created following the English settlement of Jamaica in 1655. This administrative structure for the Colony of Jamaica developed slowly. However, since 1 May 1867, Jamaica has been divided into the current fourteen parishes . These were retained after independence in 1962. They are grouped into three historic counties , which no longer have any administrative relevance. Every parish has
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#1732776670161660-634: The parish having been strip-mined as a result, notably in William's Field, Hope, and Blue Mountain. The parish offers a variety of climate , vegetation and scenery . The capital, Mandeville, is situated at an elevation of 626 m (2,054 ft). The town is noted for its climate, and temperatures range from a low of 12.7 °C (55 °F) in December and January, to a high of 33 °C (91 °F) in July and August. There are very few rivers in
690-443: The parish, and the existing ones are rather small; Alligator Hole River, Alligator Pond River, Gut River , Hector's River, Two Rivers, and Swift River. Hector's River runs along the border of Manchester and Trelawny , sinks at Troy where it flows underground for approximately six kilometers and rises below Oxford Cave as One Eye River. Despite this, water supply is generally scarce; the southern districts often suffer drought . There
720-470: The parish. The Christiana Land Authority assists agricultural development in the region. Irish potato is grown considerably in the Christiana area and it is the centre of a large banana and ginger-growing district. Manchester is a centre of the bauxite mining industry. The first bauxite mining companies were Alcan and Alpart. Alcan, a large world-renowned Canadian company, had a strong presence in
750-487: The town and was one of the main employers. It lured many Jamaicans because of high salaries and the benefits offered. Alpart, short for Aluminum Partners of Jamaica, was initially formed as a joint venture of Kaiser Aluminum, Reynolds Aluminum, and Anaconda. It is still in operation in Nain St Elizabeth parish; however, it is now jointly owned by UC Rusal of Russia and Hydro Aluminum of Norway. The parish created
780-480: Was derived from the Ancient Greek word áphullos , meaning "leafless." This is likely in reference to its small nose-leaf . It weighs 14–18 g (0.49–0.63 oz). Its total body length is 88 mm (3.5 in). Its forearm is 48 mm (1.9 in) long. On the dorsal side of the forearm, its skin is pink. Its ears are 16 mm (0.63 in) long and 12 mm (0.47 in) wide. The tragus
810-518: Was established in 1866 with the elimination of the 8 listed below (roughly by county): Surrey : Middlesex : Jamaica is divided into three historic counties , though they have no administrative function today. They were established in 1758 to facilitate the holding of courts along the lines of the British county court system. The three counties are named for the English historic counties of Cornwall , Middlesex , and Surrey . Cornwall County
840-401: Was established in 1938, and is the oldest Parish Library. The growth of the town was given a substantial stimulus when Alcan Bauxite Company opened operations there. It built houses for its then mostly expatriate staff. The relatively high wages lured many educated Jamaicans there. Mandeville continues to grow rapidly due to it being considered one of the most attractive towns in Jamaica and
870-411: Was named for being the westernmost county, just like its namesake. Middlesex County was named for its location on the middle third of Jamaica. Surrey County was named for the English county in which Kingston upon Thames is found, because Kingston was its county town . Phyllonycteris aphylla The Jamaican flower bat ( Phyllonycteris aphylla ) is a critically endangered species of bat in
900-404: Was named in honour of William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester , the then Governor of Jamaica. He was governor for 19 years, setting the record as the longest-serving governor of the island. The capital town, Mandeville, established in 1816, was named after his eldest son, Lord Mandeville. No sugar estates can be found in the parish; slaves worked on coffee plantations. After emancipation ,
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