January 13, 2016  

Pusey Hall Great House

During my hunt for great houses in the Vere Parish (now included in Clarendon Parish) I “discovered” the Pusey Hall Great House down a narrow dirt road surrounded by Monymusk cane fields. I parked my truck on the road, walked up the concrete walk, between two brick columns and knocked on the door. I told the occupants, employees of the nearby sugar works, that I was photographing great houses and they gave me permission to photograph the outside and adjacent property. By today’s standards, it wouldn’t be considered a “great house” but back in the eighteenth century it probably rivaled any other houses in the neighborhood. The house was probably constructed in phases with additions added after the original house was built. Today, the house exterior walls are covered with stucco and painted white. The roof is now corrugated metal. There is a large porch across the front, which is now screened. There are extensive brick buildings behind the great house, which probably were used as shops, stables and/or storage but are now used as a goat corral. These walls are very thick. Additionally, the original kitchen (?) building is still standing constructed of Spanish walling.

Benjamin and Mary Pusey were the original owners of the estate and eventually moved to Cherry Hill and Cherry Garden Estates. The Pusey Hill Estate then passed on to William Pusey (1741-1783) and his wife Elizabeth. William Pusey became a Colonel in the Middlesex Regiment of Horse Militia and represented Vere Parish as a Member of the House Assembly. The daughter of Benjamin and Mary Pusey, Elizabeth Mary Pusey married Samuel Wint and their son John Pusey Wint (1781-1876) was sent to England for his education, married an English woman, returned to Jamaica for a time and eventually returned to England where he died. A marble monument to William and Elizabeth Pusey is on one of the interior walls of the Saint Peter’s Anglican Church building in The Alley, not far from the estate. According to the 1811 Jamaica Almanac, the owner was John P. Edwards who owned 360 slaves and 157 cattle. Edwards died in 1823 and the property passed to his heirs and at the time the estate owned 249 slaves and 268 cattle. By 1828, the estate was sold and ceased to exist on the property rolls.

Pusey Hall Great House Photo Gallery

 

Pusey Hall Great House Location Map

Clarendon-Parish

Tags: , ,

About Dr. Raul A. Mosley

Raul is the founder of the Fort Worth Portrait Project (FWPP). He holds a Ph.D. in Public Affairs & Issues Management from Purdue University. After teaching for 16 years as a university faculty member at both Purdue and Indiana University, Raul moved to Fort Worth and founded the FWPP in 2014.

11 responses to “Pusey Hall Great House”

  1. clinton says :

    Great job following your hunch Michael! The brick gate columns was indeed a clue as to the significance of the buildings on property.

    Sometimes I follow a hunch whenever I notice very old isolated royal palm trees deep in the bush in the country. Once I came upon brick foundations on an old estate. No one in the general area knew what was originally there as it was destroyed and the land laid derelict for such a long time.

    Keep up the investigative work. I look forward to you posts!

    Like

    Reply
    • mwmosley68 says :

      Thanks Clinton. Yes, it is many times a challenge when the local people know very little about the old houses. I keep probing until they remember something that helps me. Sometimes they may be living in a great house and don’t realize its name or historical importance. As I state in my Hillside post, I was having a hard time finding the Hillside Great House until I “discovered” that the walls underneath the existing 20th century house were first floor stone walls of the original great house. That’s all part of the fun of this project. Michael

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. David Godson says :

    I found your post about Pusey Hall Estate, fascinating. I am currently researching the estate ownership as part of my biography of Richard Godson, Q.C., M.P., who inherited an interest in Pusey Hall Estate in 1825 through his marriage to Mary Hargreaves, Lancaster, England. The Hargreaves family had a trading relationship with the Pusey family (between Jamaica and Lancaster, England) going back to the mid-1700s and into the 1800s. After John Pusey Edwardes’s death they became owners of the estate, I believe through providing a £50,000 mortgage for its (purchase)/development. As part owner, with Henry Hargreaves, Richard Godson received compensation for 236 slaves on the estate following emancipation.

    I wonder if I could contact you by email to see what more we can jointly reveal about the estate (my email address attached).

    Like

    Reply
  3. googlemomma says :

    Wow. The property looks completely ruined… My family lived in this house; I have such fond memories of the Palm trees that lines the drive up to the house and the wonderful fruit trees….

    Like

    Reply
  4. Wayne Carter says :

    This message is to all of the people in this thread. Dr. Mosley, I would appreciate any feedback from you also. My great grandmother was named Estella or Estelle Pusey and she live in Panama in the early 1900s. I know that she migrated to Panama and I think she migrated from Jamaica. I am taking a graduate level in history on genealogy. I have been researching my family tree for many years and would greatly appreciate any information that you can share. How extensive was the Pusey family in the Caribbean and Panama? I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks! Wayne

    Like

    Reply
    • A Magnificant Journey says :

      Wayne,
      Your information is, I’m sure, much more comprehensive than mine. I’m more interested in the great houses and historical events associated with them. Maybe some of our readers maybe able to help.

      Michael Mosley

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment