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The early years of Jamaica House
Hartley Neita, Contributor
Joanne Sibley was commissioned with a budget of +22,000 to design and supervise the interior decoration of the official residence.
She was the wife of architect Jeremy Sibley, and was a professional, holding a Bachelor of Interior Decorating degree from the University of Manitoba. Her husband was a partner in the firm McMorris and Sibley whose entry in the competition to choose a design for the official residence of the Prime Minister won the second prize.
She focused special attention on the Banquet Hall. Twenty foot long drapes were made from 150 yards of white cotton embossed with gold. The T-shaped dining table was made to seat 36, and four hemmed linen damask cloths were made for it, along with 36 matching "PM" monagrammed napkins.
The 36-dinner set for the Hall was of Chancellor bone china with a narrow gold acid edge supplied by the Royal Worcester Company of England. The silver canteen from Poston Sheffield Products of England had a Duchess pattern and the monogram "PM" in scroll at the handles. The knives had hollow handles with the monogram. The entree dishes, trays, sauce bowls and condiment sets were in silver, gadroon mounted and bearing the "PM" monograms on the lids.
At the back of the Banquet Hall was a panelled mahogany inset on which was mounted the Jamaican Coat of Arms carved by Alvin Marriott. Nine plaques picturing mahogany and brass pineapple were mounted on woven straw with decorative lights behind. And overhead was a magnificent silver and crystal chandelier, 6 feet in diameter and 6 feet 6 inches long with 24 lamps.
Five other chandeliers were also mounted in the house. A Spanish type was chosen for the Reception Hall, another to the private dining room, two to the stairwell in the public area and one to the private stairwell. Lantern-type lamps decorated the walls of the Banquet Hall and the Reception Room Area. The chandeliers were made by Thorn Electrical Company of London to Joanne Sibley's design.
Chinaware for the private dining room - breakfast and lunch sets - were made by Worcester Porcelain Company of Jamaica. Eighteen pairs of corded Egyptian sheets and two and a half dozen pillowcases in white were ordered from Liddell and Company for the bedrooms. Rugs in colours of palm leaf, French jade, gold and off-white ranging in size from 10 feet by 9 feet to 14 feet by 10 feet, were also obtained.
Towels in gold, blue and white, also monogrammed, and six heavy quality bedspreads, one in white for the Colonial-type room, were also provided.
The furniture in the Banquet Hall was made by the Montego Galleries, those in the sitting room in one of the private suites by Walter Gertig of the Friends Craft at Highgate, and the dining room in the private wing was done by Spencer's Furniture Company of Upper King Street, Kingston. Other furniture was made by Roy White, Maurice Lister, Tropical Furniture Mart, Versatile Woodwork and Miss Nunes of Clieveden Avenue, St. Andrew. Jamaican wood such as mahogany, Spanish elm and guango were used extensively.
On the fabric side, Ruth Claridge of Jamaica Clothes Shop printed three different designs for the drapes in the bedrooms, while Paul Methuen and a Mr. Sampson made drape and padded pelmets. Pottery items were from the Two Todds of Highgate, and master potter Cecil Baugh.
The building might not have been a palace, but there was no doubt to the guests who attended the first Reception at the house that it was regally elegant.
When the residence was completed, members of the public were invited to enter a contest to name it.
There could only have been one name, and it was therefore inevitable that more than one entry suggested "Jamaica House".
The building stood in magnificent splendour on 30 acres of former King's House lands on Hope road.
Sir Alexander and Lady Bustamante moved into the residence in 1964. Their private home on Tucker Avenue was leased to the Army and Brigadier Rudolph Green was living there. However, the main bedroom of Jamaica House proved to be extremely hot and Green moved from Tucker Avenue temporarily to allow the Bustamantes to return there for a couple days while the bedroom of the official residence was air-conditioned. Which Sir Alexander allowed reluctantly.
Two thousand guests were invited to Jamaica House to the second Independence Anniversary Reception on August 3, 1964. It was the first public function held at the residence, and oohs and aahs at the close up view of the residence soon gave way to
nervous twitches as millions of ants, according to a news report, became upset at the invasion by the guests "of their long standing home". The ants took objection to the human presence - especially because their night's rest was disturbed - and showed no respect for the Diplomats, Politicians, Trade Unionists, Priests or Public Officers. Neither did the ants differentiate between the sexes, as the ladies complained in whispers to each other that they were being stung above their knees!
It was then that Bustamante's humour came to the fore. Next day he issued the following News Release:
"It has been brought to the attention of the Prime Minster that guests were inconvenienced by ants at the Independence Reception held at Jamaica House. This inhospitable behaviour on the part of the insects which had their terrain disturbed for
the first time is a matter of regret to the Prime Minister, and he (apologies). This will not recur, as the trees and lawns will be sprayed in future."
The Bustamantes lived at Jamaica House from then until 1967 when he retired from active politics. During those three years he fell ill, but took time out to receive Kings and Queens such as His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie, and Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edingburgh. And incidentally, this was not the norm, as royalty do not pay visits to Heads of Government, rather it is the other way around. He also received President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and other official visitors to Jamaica at the official residence.
Donald Sangster succeeded Bustamante as Prime Minister. However, he never lived at Jamaica House as he was stricken three weeks after he was appointed, went into a coma and died on April 11, 1967.
He was succeeded by Hugh Shearer as Prime Minister. Shearer found the house a little overbearing and a somewhat lonely place as he was then a bachelor.
In fact he had very few personal effects with him at the house, and so he did not bother to return there when he lost the elections in 1972. The residence was therefore ready and available for his successor, Michael Manley.
Tomorrow: Jamaica House becomes offices.
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