
Magdala House is located in the heritage district of Black River, St. Elizabeth. The house is of historical and architectural interest.
Magdala House -- the history
The two storey house had inside plumbing with running water for the main bathroom and lavatory upstairs. It has concrete foundation walls which are rectangular and rise two to three feet above the ground. Liberal use of fretwork on facias and barge boards give the house an imposing appearance, set on extensive grounds.
Donald Farquharson, who spent most of his boyhood days at Magdala House, wrote the following in 1981:
The staircase was in every way of a fine design and construction but was a constant source of trouble as the Flemish Oak was not impervious to termites and bits from time to time had to be replaced. The arches in the hall were also like the staircase of Flemish Oak. The pressed paper panelling in the dining room was I recall, in the opinion of my family, the epitome of Victorian nouveau riche bad taste!
The dining room had oak flooring. It was a big room with a bow window and no floor board was joined. Each board was cut in England to the exact length required from a length of oak. The verandahs were small and tiled in gaudy Victorian tiles of various mixed shades of brown and yellow. The outer board walls were painted and sanded with white sea sand for preservation."
Currently the building is in a sad state of disrepair as shown in the photograph above. According to The Daily Gleaner article, "Funds Needed to Repair Magdala House, March 2, 2013, the building has "creaking floorboards, flaking paint, water damaged ceilings and walls." and the the future of the site is undecided.
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by GSJ Editor, Lena Joy Rose
Check back soon for more posts on historic sites/buildings of interest around Jamaica.