Highgate House

Highgate House, located in the parish of St. Catherine, is considered the oldest structure in the district of Sligoville. Built in the Georgian style using cut stone and mortar, the house originally had two storeys with open verandas on both floors. It was constructed as a summer residence on the Government Mountain estate, intended for use by the Governor of Jamaica. The first Governor to occupy the house was Sir John Dalling. In 1779, the estate was sold to Charles D’Aquin, a French coffee planter, and in 1829, it was purchased by the second Earl of Belmore, who served as Governor from 1829 to 1832. The house is most notably associated with Howe Peter Brown, the Marquis of Sligo, under whose governance the Emancipation Act of 1834 was implemented. Sligoville, Jamaica’s first free village, was named in his honor. By 1840, Highgate House passed into the hands of Provost Marshall General John O’Sullivan and remained with the O’Sullivan family until the early twentieth century. The property is now owned by the Government of Jamaica, preserving its rich history tied to the colonial era and the island’s journey toward emancipation.