(L-R)
Karen Giddeon, Supervisor with Jamaica National Building Society’s (JNBS) St.
Ann’s Bay Branch; Members of the St. Ann’s Bay Improvement Committee, Eva
Murdock and Iva Walters-Baker; Claudia Carlton, Director of Administration, St.
Ann's Bay Parish Council; and Cynthia Graham, President of the St. Ann’s Bay
Improvement Committee are joined by JNBS Foundation’s Saffrey Brown, General
Manager and Jennifer Martin, Director as they stood in front of the recently
repaired Ann’s Bay Clock on April 17. Through its fundraising initiative “Rally
Round the Clock”, and with assistance from JNBS Foundation and the St. Ann’s
Bay Parish Council, the committee was able to repair the historic clock which
stopped working approximately 8 years ago, ahead of its 200th anniversary in
2014.
St.
Ann’s Bay:
Older than London’s 153 year-old Big Ben, the St. Ann’s Bay clock, built
in 1814, is ticking again.
For
eight years, the hands on the three-faced clock stood still, and it was then
residents realized how much they depended on this landmark for their daily time
management.
Five
years ago the St. Ann’s Bay Improvement Committee was formed with “Rally
Round The Clock” as their first major fundraising project. With an $850,000
repair tab, the committee was determined to have the clock working in time for
its 200th anniversary in 2014.
Major
donations by the Local Government, Parish Council, Berger Paints, and those
given by residents, as well as numerous fundraising by the Committee, still saw
a shortfall of $280,000. A successful application to the Jamaica National
Building Society (JNBS) Foundation took care of the shortfall.
Saffrey
Brown, General Manager of the JNBS Foundation said it was important that the
cultural preservation of historical landmarks such as the St. Ann’s Bay clock
be supported.
“We
had to support the effort of this Committee to ensure that such a significant
edifice continues to be functional for the people of St. Ann’s Bay,” Miss Brown
stated, yesterday as she met with Committee members by the clock.
A
sentiment supported by Ms. Jennifer Martin, board member of the Foundation who
was so intrigued by the history of the clock that she has agreed to assist in
getting some additional information on its transfer from England to its current
home.
“We
have to preserve these important landmarks as we have lost the one (clock) in
Ocho Rios to fire,” Ms. Martin stated.
Built
by the famous clock marker John Whitehurst 11 of Derby, the clock was donated
by the Moulton Barrett family to the town.
“It
is believed that it was taken from one of their estates in England as it was
not new,” Mrs. Cynthia Graham, President of the Committee stated on what her
research has unearthed to date.
Etching
Distinct
etchings on the clock has the “1814” manufactured date and the “Whitehurst” and
“Derby” identity of the maker and place, respectively.
“This
is the Rolls Royce of clocks,” Ms. Graham proudly stated, adding that there is
a poem written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Ode to the St. Ann’s Bay
Clock.” The Committee is trying to get a copy of the original, which is
part of a private collection here in Jamaica, she pointed out.
This
towering 20 feet clock, located at the corner of Main and Market Streets, as an
annex to the busy market, across from the Baptist Church was no accident of
history. Ms. Graham pointed out that the spot is where slaves from Drax Hall in
the East and Seville in the West and all surrounding communities used to meet
to barter and sell their wares as well as go to church.
The
clock still stands as the focal point for this bustling town and “under the
clock” continues to be the meeting place for residents of the birthplace of
National Hero Marcus Mosiah Gravey, whose childhood home on upper Market Street
has a clear view of its northern face.
The
St. Ann’s Bay clock is known for keeping accurate time as it is wound weekly by
the town’s time keeper, Mr. Philip Martin. Lights on each face make for easy
readings at nights.
Vendors,
Denise White, Sandra Lugg and Sonia Towers, in the upper section of the market,
who literally sell under the clock (the entrance is in the market), are happy
that the clock is working but disappointed that it is not striking. “When
the clock was repaired it would make this loud bong! bong! sound and we would
know the time,” said Towers. “Now we have to go outside and look up or ask
someone on the outside to give us the time,” added Lugg.
White
grew up with the sound of the clock and learned from early to count the “bongs”
to know the time, without looking up. “Not everybody can read the time but you
can always count, that is why we need the striking sound,” she added.
For
Mr. Dennis Hickings, Chairman of the St. Ann’s Bay Heritage Committee, the
clock is one of the most important heritage monuments in the parish and that is
why it is featured on the front page of their brochure. “We miss the chime
everyone, even the fishermen, would know what time it is when they are at sea
as the sound travels far.”
On
Emancipation Day, August 1, 1838, when the clock struck midnight, the slaves
from surrounding estates took their shackles and branding items and buried them
in the cemetery of the neighbouring Baptist church. And again, in 1962 at the
stroke of midnight, the British Union Jack was lowered and the back, green and
gold of independent Jamaica rose on the flag staff across from the clock.
One
Million dollars
Will
the clock strike again? That is the million dollar question. The price
tag to get the intricate rope cable dual mechanism functional is estimated to
cost over a million dollars. The other question is why is the clock not listed
as one of Jamaica’s national heritage sites?
"Virginia
Turner (right), Project Manager for Rural Development, Jamaica National
Building Society (JNBS) Foundation congratulates members of the St. Ann’s Bay Improvement
Committee (L-R) Iva Walters-Baker, Vice President; Eva Murdock; and Cynthia
Graham, President for their work in repairing the St. Ann’s Bay Clock, which
had not been operational for eight years. Sharing in the site visit to the
historic clock on April 17 are JNBS Foundation’s General Manager, Saffrey Brown
(3rd right) and Director, Jennifer Martin. The JNBS Foundation provided much
needed funds to help the committee to realize its vision to repair the clock
before its 200th anniversary.