Morant Bay museum project enters design phase

The CHASE Fund has begun the concept and design phase of a museum in Morant Bay, marking a step forward in plans to commemorate one of Jamaica’s most consequential historical events.

The museum will be built on the site of the old Morant Bay Courthouse in St Thomas, which was destroyed by fire in 2007, and is intended to preserve the legacy of the 1865 rebellion and its influence on modern Jamaica. 

It aims to become a premier attraction for both locals and visitors.

The courthouse site remains symbolically potent. Though destroyed by fire in 2007, its surviving brick walls stand on the grounds where the rebellion unfolded under the leadership of Paul Bogle, one of Jamaica’s seven National Heroes. A monument at the site commemorates Bogle and the more than 400 people killed during the uprising.

Following an international competitive bidding process, the CHASE Fund has appointed DTJ Design, a US-based firm, in partnership with Kingston 10 Architects, to lead the design. The contract was signed in March 2026 and is expected to run for six months.

Work is under way following a mid-May site visit for initial assessments. Weekly meetings continue, an inception report has been submitted, and stakeholder engagement is planned to incorporate the views of St Thomas residents and the wider public.

"We are thrilled to have reached this stage of the project. Getting here required sustained effort — from the early stakeholder conversations in 2023 through a rigorous international procurement process — and we are proud of the foundation that has been laid,” said Billy Heaven, CEO of the CHASE Fund.

“This museum will not simply be a building; it will be a place of memory, of reckoning, and of pride — a space where Jamaicans and visitors alike can engage deeply with a chapter of our history that helped to define who we are as a people,” he added.

Oversight is being provided by a multi-agency committee that includes the CHASE Fund, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and the Institute of Jamaica. The St Thomas Municipal Corporation, which owns the site, has backed the project.

The project was first announced by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness during his 2023 Budget Debate.

"Through the CHASE Fund, a museum will be built in Morant Bay to ensure that current and future generations are rooted and grounded in the knowledge of our rich cultural and historical heritage. The museum is to capture and properly document the history of the Morant Bay Rebellion and its defining impacts on modern Jamaica, in order to help our people to truly understand the struggles our forefathers underwent,” the prime minister said at the time.