St Andrew (Kingston and St Andrew), near Kingston
Devon House
George Stiebel's 1881 Kingston mansion, saved from demolition and loved for its ice cream.
- Built
- 1881
- Economy
- Urban residence
- Style
- Jamaican Georgian / neoclassical mansion
- Today
- Museum / attraction
Overview
Devon House is a grand 19th-century mansion at the corner of Hope Road and Trafalgar Road in upper Kingston. It was built in 1881 for George Stiebel, a Jamaican of African and German-Jewish descent who left school at 14, became a ship owner and trader, and made a fortune from a Venezuelan gold mine. He is widely called Jamaica's first Black millionaire, although historians note this is hard to prove.
Unlike most great houses, Devon House was never the centre of a slave plantation: it was a town residence, built nearly fifty years after emancipation on former church land. After passing through several families it stood empty in the 1960s and was threatened with demolition for apartments. Edward Seaga, then a government minister, stopped the demolition, and the state bought the property.
Restored and opened to the public, it was declared a National Monument in 1990 and is now one of Kingston's best-loved places, famous for its gardens, craft shops and Devon House I-Scream.
Timeline
16 dated moments in the life of Devon House. Select a marker, or use the arrow keys, to read each one. Shaded bands show the wider eras of Jamaican history; dotted lines mark island-wide uprisings.
Swipe sideways to see the whole timeline, or read the full list below.
- 1667
Glebe land granted
King Charles II grants about 600 acres of glebe, including Devon Pen, to Rev. Zellers of St Andrew parish (another source gives 1644).
- 1750
Church rectory on Devon Pen
The St Andrew Parish Church builds a rectory on the pen, used by rectors for many decades.
- 1873
Stiebel returns rich
George Stiebel comes home to Jamaica after making a fortune from the El Callao gold mine in Venezuela.
- 1879
Devon Pen bought
Stiebel buys roughly 51–53 acres of Devon Pen from the Church of England.
- 1881
Mansion built
Devon House is built, with Charles P. Lazarus as builder; the family is living there by about 1882–83.
- 1891
Royal honour
Queen Victoria makes Stiebel a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.
- 1896
Stiebel dies
George Stiebel dies at Devon House on 29 June and is buried at Half Way Tree.
- 1922
Sold to the Melhados
After Theresa Stiebel Jackson's death, Reginald Melhado and a partner buy the house; most land is subdivided into roads and lots (some sources date the sale to 1923).
- 1928
Lindo family home
Businessman Cecil Lindo buys Devon House and lives there until his death in 1960, after which it stands empty.
- 1965
Saved from demolition
Minister Edward Seaga halts plans to demolish the house for apartments using the National Trust Act; the government then buys it.
- 1968
Opened to the public
The restored Devon House is officially opened on 23 January 1968.
- 1974
National Gallery
The mansion becomes home to the National Gallery of Jamaica, which later moves downtown.
- 1982
Refurbished and reopened
After a second restoration under Tom Concannon, Queen Elizabeth II opens the house (sources give 1982 or 1983).
- 1990
National Monument
The Jamaica National Heritage Trust declares Devon House a National Monument.
- 2017
Gastronomy centre
Devon House is launched as a gastronomy centre and a larger I-Scream parlour opens on the north lawn.
- 2023
Stiebel bust unveiled
A bust of George Stiebel by sculptor Basil Watson is unveiled in the renovated courtyard in December.
The story of Devon House
Origins, owners and the working estate.
The land under Devon House was once Devon Pen, part of the glebe land that supported the Anglican church of St Andrew. Sources say an English monarch granted around 600 acres of glebe to the parish's first clergyman, Reverend John Zellers, in the 17th century (the year is given as 1644 or 1667 in different accounts), and a rectory later stood on the pen. In 1879 George Stiebel bought Devon Pen, roughly 51–53 acres, from the Church of England. Stiebel was born around 1820–21 in Jamaica to Sigismund Stiebel, a German-born Jewish merchant, and a Jamaican housekeeper of African descent.
He apprenticed as a carpenter, built up a shipping business around the Caribbean and the Americas, was jailed for a time in Cuba over gun-running, and finally grew rich after investing in the El Callao gold mine in Venezuela. He returned to Jamaica wealthy in 1873 and bought sugar estates, a cattle pen, a Kingston wharf and other property. Devon House was raised in 1881 with Charles P. Lazarus as builder, as a home for Stiebel, his wife Magdalen and the family of his daughter Theresa.
Together with two other mansions nearby, Abbey Court and Reka Dom, it gave the junction the nickname Millionaire's Corner. Stiebel became Custos of St Andrew in the 1880s and was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1891. He died at Devon House in 1896. His daughter Theresa lived there until her death in 1922; the estate was then sold to Reginald Melhado (with a partner) and most of the land was cut up into roads and building lots, leaving about 11 acres. Cecil Lindo bought it in 1928 and lived there until he died in 1960.
Architecture
How the house was built, and what survives.
Devon House is usually described as one of the finest examples of 19th-century domestic architecture in Jamaica. It follows the Jamaican Georgian tradition with neoclassical symmetry, a central entrance and a broad staircase rising from the main hall. The main house is largely of timber, and accounts say the bricks and the cast-iron front gate were imported from Scotland. To cope with heat and rain it has jalousie (louvred) windows and wrap-around verandahs on more than one level, enclosed with ventilated windows.
The kitchen was deliberately placed in a separate building at the back, away from the wooden house, to reduce the risk of fire. Inside are a ballroom, library, gaming room, dining room, sitting and sewing rooms and bedrooms. The ballroom retains its decorative ceiling with cherubs and flowers, and its chandelier was recreated from the original Stiebel fixture. The outbuildings, older than the main house, have notable brickwork and ovens.
The original grounds held stables, a carriage house, staff quarters, wells, a small pool, tennis courts and even a racetrack, because Stiebel loved horses. The rooms today are furnished with Jamaican, Caribbean and European antiques and reproductions, since much of the original furniture was sold or removed over the years.
The people of Devon House
Owners, enslaved Africans and their descendants, workers and keepers.
Devon House was built after slavery ended, so there are no enslaved people registered to this property. Its story still connects to slavery: George Stiebel's mother was a Jamaican woman of African descent, and the UCL Legacies of British Slavery database records that his father, Sigismund Stiebel, was awarded about £54 in 1830s compensation for three enslaved people in Kingston (Kingston claim 1854). George Stiebel himself, a man of colour in a society run by a white elite, rose from carpenter's apprentice to one of the richest people on the island and to the senior civic post of Custos of St Andrew.
He married Magdalen Baker, the daughter of a missionary, in 1851; their son Sigismund died young, and their daughter Theresa married Richard Hill Jackson, who later served as mayor of Kingston. In the 1890s tragedy struck: Magdalen died in 1892, and in 1895 a grandson died of typhoid with Richard Hill Jackson dying about a week later. Running the house took a large paid staff of free workers, including housemaids, laundresses, a butler, a cook, grooms, a coachman, a horse trainer and gardeners, who lived in quarters on the property. Later residents were Reginald Melhado's family and then Cecil and Agnes Lindo.
George Stiebelc.1820–1896
Builder and first owner; Custos of St Andrew
Son of a German-Jewish merchant and a Jamaican woman of African descent; made his fortune in Venezuelan gold.
Sigismund Stiebelc.1790–1859
George's father, merchant
LBS records a compensation award for three enslaved people in Kingston (claim 1854).
Magdalen Baker Stiebelc.1825–1892
Wife of George Stiebel
Daughter of a missionary; married George in 1851.
Theresa Stiebel Jackson1856–1922
Daughter and heir
Lived at Devon House with her children until her death.
Charles P. Lazarusfl. 1881
Builder/architect
Named as the builder of Devon House.
Cecil Lindoowner 1928–1960
Owner
Businessman in the spirits industry; the house was left empty after his death.
Edward Seaga1930–2019
Minister of Development and Welfare, later Prime Minister
Stopped the demolition and shaped Devon House as a public heritage site; named the I-Scream brand.
Myth and fact
Stories told about the house, checked against the documents.
The story
Lady Musgrave Road was built so the Governor's wife would not have to drive past the house of a Black millionaire.
The record
This is a popular legend. A 2025 Gleaner analysis argues the road most likely honoured Lady Musgrave's charity work, and that Stiebel's family probably only moved into Devon House around 1882–83.
The story
George Stiebel was definitely Jamaica's first Black millionaire.
The record
He is widely described this way and was certainly very rich, but historians note the title is hard to prove and earlier wealthy people of colour may have existed.
Devon House today
After Cecil Lindo died in 1960 the house sat empty, and by 1965 developers planned to pull it down for apartments. Edward Seaga, then Minister of Development and Welfare, used the National Trust Act to place a preservation order on it, and the Government of Jamaica bought the property (1967 according to one account). It was restored and opened to the public on 23 January 1968, with Things Jamaican supplying furnishings and craft. From 1974 the mansion housed the National Gallery of Jamaica until the gallery moved downtown in the early 1980s.
A second refurbishment under architect Tom Concannon followed, and Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the restored house in the early 1980s. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust declared it a National Monument in 1990. Since 2002 the Devon House Development Company has managed the site, which includes shops, restaurants and the Devon House I-Scream parlour, a brand named by Seaga. National Geographic listed it among the world's best places for ice cream in 2011, it was branded a gastronomy centre in 2017, and in December 2023 a bust of Stiebel by sculptor Basil Watson was unveiled there.
Devon House is open to visitors, with guided tours of the mansion and free-to-roam gardens, shops and eateries; check with Devon House directly for current tour times and fees.
Learn
For students, teachers and the curious.
Did you know?
- Devon House was built in 1881, almost 50 years after slavery ended, so it was a town home rather than a plantation great house.
- George Stiebel left school at 14 to learn carpentry and later became one of the richest people in Jamaica.
- The corner where Devon House stands was nicknamed Millionaire's Corner because of three grand mansions built there.
- The kitchen was built as a separate building behind the house so a cooking fire could not burn down the wooden mansion.
- National Geographic listed Devon House among the world's best places to eat ice cream in 2011.
Test yourself
Sources
Where this account comes from. The web addresses are listed so you can check the evidence yourself.
- Devon House – Property History (official site)https://fr.devonhouseja.com/property-history
- ACIJ/JMB Fact Sheet – The History of Devon Househttps://acij-ioj.org.jm/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FACT-SHEET-DEVON-HOUSE.pdf
- Jamaica Gleaner – Pieces of the Past: Devon Househttps://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0028.html
- Jamaica Gleaner – Mythologising Jamaica's history (2025)http://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20250811/mythologising-jamaicas-history-when-fiction-supersedes-facts
- Jamaica Gleaner – Devon House ice cream bigger and better (2017)http://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lifestyle/20170727/devon-house-ice-cream-bigger-and-better
- Jamaica Observer – Stiebel honoured with bust at Devon Househttps://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latest-news/jamaicas-first-black-millionaire-george-stiebel-honoured-with-bust-at-devon-house/
- Visit Jamaica – A closer look at Devon Househttps://www.visitjamaica.com/blog/post/kingston-a-closer-look-at-devon-house/
- UCL Legacies of British Slavery – Sigismund Stiebelhttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/16027
- Jamaica Great Houses – Devon Househttps://jamaicagreathouses.com/devonhouse/index.html
- Wikipedia – George Stiebel (pointer only)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stiebel
Historian's notes: what is uncertain
Dates of the glebe grant differ (1644 vs 1667). Stiebel's birth year is given as c.1820 or 1821. Acreage of Devon Pen given as 51 or 53 acres.
Sale to Melhado dated 1922 or 1923. The government purchase is dated 1967 by one source; others only say it followed the 1965 preservation order. The Queen's opening of the refurbished house is dated 1982 (official site) or 1983 (Visit Jamaica).
Some sources call Lazarus the builder, others the architect. The founding year of Devon House I-Scream was not found in a reliable source. Coordinates are approximate. The 'first Black millionaire' title is a popular description, not a proven fact.
Nearby great houses
This profile was compiled by Jamaica Homes News from the sources listed above and checked against archival records where they were available. Legends are labelled as legends. Inclusion here does not confirm public access or opening hours. Spotted an error, or hold records about this house? Return to the Great Houses archive to explore the other houses.