- Details
- Community Buffer Zones
Most people travelling to Holywell use the road from Papine through the communities of Irish Town, Redlight and Middleton and on through Newcastle – the Jamaica Defence Force training station. Irish Town is so named because of the Irish settlers – many of whom came to Jamaica as overseers for the coffee plantations owned by the English. In 1841, Major General Sir William Gomm, Commanding Officer of Her Majesty’s Forces in Jamaica, moved the training camp to Newcastle to escape the outbreak of yellow fever at Up Park Camp in Kingston. This move saved many English soldiers from death and the site remained a military station from then; today it is used mainly for training. The community of Redlight got its name as it is reputed to be the town the soldiers visited to enjoy “music, liquor and women”. Today, Redlight “Square” is a bustling bus terminus with activity round the clock.