Parishes of Jamaica

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Administratively, Jamaica is divided into fourteen parishes. They are grouped into three historic counties, which have no administrative relevance. Every parish has a coast; none are landlocked.

The traditional county towns were Savanna-la-Mar for Cornwall County, Spanish Town for Middlesex County, and Kingston for Surrey County.

⁽¹⁾ The parishes of Kingston and Saint Andrew together form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation.
⁽²⁾ The parish of Kingston does not encompass all of the city of Kingston. Most of the city is in the parish of St. Andrew.

Map of the parishes of Jamaica.

Former Parishes

Parishes have been a feature of local administration in Jamaica since the island was captured by the English in 1655.^[1] The number has varied over time and some no longer exist having either been absorbed into or divided between neighbouring parishes.^[1] At the peak, 1841–1865, there were 22 (the current 14 plus those listed below).^[1]

The current set of parishes was established in 1866 with the elimination of the 8 listed below (roughly by county):^[1]

Surrey:

• Port Royal (now divided between Kingston and Saint Andrew)
• Saint George (now divided between Saint Mary and Portland)
• Saint David (now part of Saint Thomas)

Middlesex:

• Metcalfe (now part of Saint Mary)
• Saint Dorothy (now part of Saint Catherine)
• Saint John (now part of Saint Catherine)
• Saint Thomas in the Vale (now part of Saint Catherine) – note that the current Saint Thomas used to be named "Saint Thomas in the East" to differentiate between the two parishes at the time.
• Vere (now part of Clarendon)

See also

• List of Caribbean First-level Subdivisions by Total Area
• ISO 3166-2:JM

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parishes of Jamaica.

• Jamaican Parish Reference, a concise and well illustrated history of parish naming in Jamaica.

Counties and Parishes of Jamaica Counties Cornwall Middlesex Surrey Parishes Clarendon Hanover Kingston Manchester Portland Saint Andrew Saint Ann Saint Catherine Saint Elizabeth Saint James Saint Mary Saint Thomas Trelawny Westmoreland