greenwood great house

Greenwood surpassed all expectations - the location is utterly beautiful with wonderful views from the verandah, almost everything is still original and authentic, despite being occupied by the owners (you wouldn't know unless you were told so). We had a tour guide, Patricia, to ourselves - she really knew her stuff, was very well spoken and gave us a great tour. They hardly get any visitors currently from the cruise ships - more fool them! Would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting interested in Jamaica's colourful past.

Visited here on a tour from our cruise ship. Originally owned by the Barrett family and now run as a tourist attraction. Well kept and set out. Most of the furniture is authentic and original to the house. Pretty gardens. After a very enjoyable tour my husband enjoyed a complimentary rum punch. Well worth a visit.

We went on a tour of Greenwood as the weather was not worthy of a beach day. Upon arriving in the bar area I was bit skeptical about what was in store. I was pleasantly amazed by the history of the house and the amount of antiques. Our tour guide seemed to have a personal interest in the house and therefore provided incredible amounts of information. If you enjoy antiques this is certainly the tour to take. Not the mention the views from this great house are some of the best on the island!

Had it not been for our knowledgeable driver, we would not have found this wonderful museum. The drive is through meandering streets lined with homes of all sizes, eras and quality. We learned about how the area developed and the different land uses over the centuries.Greenwood House was built by the Barrett family of Great Britain which included the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (which begs the question about why this is called the Greenwood House). The property once included thousands of acres of plantation and wet lands that are visible from the home's grand veranda.The home has purportedly been continuously inhabited and thus retains much of its authentic charm and furnishings. The home survived the fires from the revolts.The tour is led by Bob who, with his wife, reside in and maintain the property exquisitely. Bob is not only a wealth of knowledge but he is a splendid story-teller and docent. He kept us engaged in the fascinating history of the home, the visitors and the region.Furnishings are in immaculate condition including once-innovative musical instruments and multitudes of furniture, art and other antiques. We were told how the British would come to Jamaica from all over the world. They would leave gifts from Europe, Turkey, China, Japan, Africa, the Americas and elsewhere. Many of these gifts are still there. My son was especially fascinated by the 17th century map and Charles Dickens' first edition. My wife liked the romantic-era parlor furniture.We learned about the inhabitants and the parties. We heard about the whistlers in the kitchen. We heard about the sugar plantation and the slave revolts. We heard about Spaniards, Brits (including Captain Bligh) and Americans. We heard about young lads courting their ladies.Small children may get bored but for those looking for authentic history, Greenwood is a grand Jamaican museum. Of the Great Houses that we visited, this would be the one not to miss.

This is one of the most interesting houses I've ever been to. The furniture and collectibles and interesting and truly unique. It was a great experience.

Our cruise port stop in Falmouth Jamaica, allowed for a 4-5 hour stay and we made the most of it. We try to not use on-ship tours as we hate to wait for the inconsiderate, and hate to pass an off the beaten path attraction without our option to visit.So after docking we bypassed the closed-in port stores and approved taxi stand and escaped to the real(?) Falmouth where we were approached by a big friendly man named Wayne Ferguson who is the proprietor of WOF VIP Tours ( www.wofjamaicatours.com). We explained that we were history buffs and would like to go see the Rose Hall Great House...Wayne told us that there was a better option, the Greenwood Great House and because we hired him for a few hours we would have enough time to see both. Wayne walked us over a few blocks to his car where he handed us off to a wonderful female tour guide, and we set out for Greenwood and within a few minutes of the port we were bumping along on the original carriage road that leads to the house which is located "up the hill" situated in a beautiful old garden setting. The admission was $20 US per person and very well worth it. Our house guide was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic young woman named Trich who gave us the details of both the house, its original and unique furnishings and history, which included Richard Barrett, cousin of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning who was purported to be the home's original builder way back when, a nice connection. The building is original and still lived in and features one of the most beautiful second story wrap around porch we have ever seen. It looks out to a 180 degree view of the ocean, while designed to and still capturing the cooling breeze that seemed to always be present. We finished up our tour in the bar where a pleasant woman named Patricia added to the friendly atmosphere.Our next stop was Rose Hall which we found had a colorful history (true?) but had been destroyed by its slaves (true?) and rebuilt within the recent past.Unlike Greenwood's original furnishings, Rose Hall was filled with "correct to the period" furnishings, wall and floor coverings...not original, but still worth a visit to see its opulence and listen to the guide describe the Mistress of the House's misadventures, murder and mayhem.Our few hour tour concluded at a local grocery store in Falmouth where our wonderful guide ( and new friend) volunteered to help my wife choose and purchase the local spices used in the famous indigenous recipe's we all know.Big Wayne is now our guy in Jamaica.

I always recommend Greenwood Great House to my guests who are travelers from all over the world.The journey to get there can be a little arduous, but, once there it is completely worth the effort. The tour is guided by well informed persons who take the visitor through the seventeenth and eighteenth century Jamaica plantation experience. Identifying with ease valuable artifacts of the plantation families of that time.

Just 10 minutes from the eastern MoBay hotel strip, Greenwood is well worth the visit. Unlike Rose Hall, which depends upon the Annie Palmer legend and is a bit of a tourist trap, you are quite likely to tour Greenwood in an intimate small group. The owners welcomed us as we were the first tour of the day at 9 a.m., giving a tour of the garden, and then an erudite tour guide led us around the house. The musical and furniture artifacts are worth the visit in themselves, but the renowned view from the upper balcony, the stories of the Barrett family, and the sense that this is still a home as well as a Jamaican Great House made the visit all the better. If you have the time to see only one house, make it Greenwood.

I visited here on a sweltering Saturday morning and had the entire estate to myself. The road to the manor house was, as someone has put it, terrible. However, since I wasn't driving, I wasn't in the least bit phased by the poor quality of the road. The house, from the outside, does admittedly look a bit run down but that should not deter you from a visit. The interior of the house is amazing. I had a tour guide to myself and she was very knowledgeable about the house and the pieces inside. The historical documents on the wall pertaining to the history of the house were very interesting as was the collection of books in the library. The old furniture, with their secret compartments conjured up images of intrigue. The pump organ, the jester's chair and the polyphon were among my favorite pieces. Of course, the centerpiece, in my opinion, was the veranda. From here, you have a near 180 degree view of the Caribbean and you can even see the curvature of the earth! To think that the owners get to have their morning coffee on there every day was just mind blowing. The bar area was filled with various pieces of material culture and displayed throughout. I would say that the woman behind the bar was less than friendly and engaging. Aside from asking for the $20 admission fee, she said absolutely nothing to me and didn't even ask if I wanted a drink on such a warm day. However, my guide more than made up for it and I really enjoyed this tour. I would like to go back and just take photos from the veranda as that view was amazing.

My group toured this house and I really enjoyed it. Owner of the house was the guide and he told us that the house is over 200 years old, it was the residence of Richard Barrett, cousin of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Elizabeth herself never visited Jamaica, but her family was one of the largest landholders. Her father owned lots of land and slaves. I saw antique harp and books with some first editions dating to 1697, polyphones, paintings, rare musical instruments, antique furniture etc. I was impressed with the 17ft long verandah with stunning view, almost 180 degrees. You could actually see how the land curves into the sea.Wish I could sit on that porch right now.

If you are history buff, this is a definite tour for you; the house also has an huge verandah where you can sit and enjoy the view while feeling a nice breeze. The owners/tour guides were very friendly and informative.

Everything was original.Nothing has been restored.The guide was great. It was interesting to see how the rich lived back then. Unfortunately there few visitors and this estate will need work in the future.The tour was worth the money.

Indeed this is a must to understand how the British wealth was accumulated. Beautiful grounds. The guides were very knowledgeable a thoroughly enlightening tour. Some fine furniture and musical instruments. Fantastic vistas to Falmouth, another historic port...but you need to root out the 18th C buildings.

This is a wonderful old house to visit. We visited Rose Hall in the morning and then Greenwood in the afternoon. My group far preferred Greenwood as it was so much more authentic. The antiques, particularly the musical instruments were fascinating and the long verandah with incredible views was so peaceful. Yes the road leading up to the house is not good but that all adds to the adventure!

Pleasant staff. Great food. Great view of the ocean. Nice beach .A great place to relax and unwind and enjoy the island.