Oracabessa | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Oracabessa | |
| Coordinates: 18°24′12″N 76°56′48″W / 18.4032139°N 76.9465899°W | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Parish | St Mary |
| Population | |
| • Total | 7,000 |
Oracabessa is a small town in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of Ocho Rios. Its population is nearly 7,000.[1] Lit in the afternoons by an apricot light that may have inspired its Spanish name, Oracabeza, or "Golden Head," Oracabessa's commercial district consists of a covered produce market and a few shops and bars. The main street is a narrow promenade with a number of well-maintained buildings in the early 20th-century Jamaican vernacular tradition.[2]
To the east, Oracabessa merges into a residential community, which is the site of luxury villas such as Goldeneye, Golden Clouds, and Firefly Estate, the latter once the home of British playwright Noël Coward. To the immediate west of Oracabessa is the village of Boscobel, home of Ian Fleming International Airport, Jamaica's newest international airport.[3]
Notable residents of Oracabessa include music producer Chris Blackwell and bestselling author Colin Simpson. Blackwell owns Goldeneye villa, original home of author Ian Fleming, who wrote the James Bond novels while living in Oracabessa. Simpson owns Golden Clouds villa and is the great-great-grandson[4] of renowned Baptist missionary and abolitionist James Phillippo.
- ^ "OUR COMMUNITY". GOLDENEYE FOUNDATION, ORACABESSA BAY. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Description of Main St". visitjamaica.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "PM Golding Impressed with Expansion at Boscobel Aerodrome" Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Office of the Prime Minister
- ^ Public Record Office Readers Guide No 11. PRO, Kew, Surrey, 2nd Edition, (2002) pp 116. ISBN 1-903365-38-4