Flamstead House, Gordon Town, St. Andrew Hills, Port Royal Mountains. Accommodated 18-20 people. Five miles from Gordon Town. The hotel was at an elevation of 3,800 feet (1,160 meters), and situated under the brow of Blue Mountain. It had a panoramic view of Kingston Harbour and Liguanea Plain.

• Starting in the Taino period in the 15th century the site was used as a lookout point.
• In the 17th and 18th centuries the buildings and cottages housed a British admiralty base and lookout. There was the Glass House, an elevated post outfitted with a powerful telescope offering a wide view. Contact with the ships, forts and batteries at Port Royal was maintained by signaling with mirrors. [did they leave in 1751?]
• In 1751, William James Hall became the first recorded owner.
• In 1764, the estate began growing coffee.
• During the Napoleonic Wars it was again used as a lookout.
• New Copper Mine announced in the May 4, 1842, Mining Journal that another valuable copper mine has been found under Flamstead Plantation.
• In January 1863, Captain Raphael Semmes of the Confederate States Navy visited. Using the hotel's telescope he was able to spot his ship Alabama in the harbour.
• At some point, Commodore William J. Ward moved into the Cottage.
• At some point, the Great House became the country home of the Governor, Sir Anthony Musgrave. (He became Governor in 1877.)
• On December 17, 1881, it was proposed in the Gleaner that Flamstead Estate become a sanitorium. (In those days for the treatment of tuberculosis.) It did not happen.
• In April 1883, three simultaneous classified ads appeared:
  • For an auction of Sir Musgrave's furnishings in the Great House. He was leaving, as he had been appointed governor of the Colony of Queensland, where he arrived on November 7th.
  • Offering both the Great House and Cottage for rent as two residences, furnished.
  • The 380 acre coffee estate, with the two dwellings, was listed for sale. The governor had been paying £150 per annum in rent.
• In June 1888, the Great House was listed for rent or lease. See clipping.
• In May 1890, the buildings and grounds, now 50 acres, are for sale or lease. The subscribers offered a special advantage to a party willing to engage the premises for the purpose of working a sanitorium and hotel. See clipping. Chief Justice Thomas M. Martin purchased the estate and took up residence in the Cottage.
• In 1897, Sir Fielding Clarke and Lady Clark move into the Cottage. (Based on his vacating the place in April 1909, after nearly 12 years.) (He was appointed Chief Justice in 1896.)
• In May 1899, Commodore William H. Henderson (the officer in charge of the Royal Navy Yard, Port Royal) visited the Great House for the day. He has been a regular visitor for years.
• In June 1899, Augustus Hemming, the Governor, was at the Great House for a few days.
• In November 1899, Commodore Henderson is occupying the Great House. The coffee property that includes the residences is put up for auction. It did not sell.
• In January 1900, the property is put up for sale. Apparently it did not sell.
• In October 1902, the Great House is put up for rent, available January 1st.
• In September 1904, Commodore F.W. Fisher was staying in the Great House. (He became Commodore in charge at Jamaica in September 1903.)
• In January 1905, the estate was still in the possession of T.M. Martin. The Gleaner lists these as having occupied Flamstead: Sir John Eyre, Sir John Peter Grant, Sir Anthony Musgrave, Mr. Newton, and Mr. Oliver. [who are these last two people?]
• In July 1906, the Great House is listed for rent for the two months of August and September.
• In April 1909, Sir Fielding Clarke vacated the Cottage. It is furnished and now available for rent.
• From August 1911 to June 1912, the Cottage is regularly listed for rent.
• In July 1915, a couple ads appear seeking paying guests. Apply Mrs. Dicks. The beginning of it being Flamstead Hotel.
• In June 1916, the ads appear again.
• In October 1921, a larger ad seeking guests appears in the Gleaner. Ads were also bought in the Guide to Jamaica.
• In May 1923, Mrs. Dicks reconstructs and enlarges the house. There are now baths with running water, and the necessary toilets, and electric lights. The tennis court is being put in order, and there will be a croquet lawn.
• In all of June and early July 1923 there were regular ads in the Gleaner.
• Ads appear again in the Summer of 1924. To get to the hotel, cars were taken to Galloway Gap, and then by mountain ponies.
• In October 1926, a portion of the estate was offered for sale.
• In the Winter 1928, British nobility were often visiting the hotel.
• In May 1931, an S.V. Morris Minor was the first car to drive the bridle path to the hotel from Guava Ridge.
• In April 1935, an Irish lady wrote an article on her visit to Jamaica, and to the hotel. See clipping.
• In December 1945, Mrs. Langlois is seeking a manageress for the Guest House.
• In April 1946, the ad includes clock golf and ping pong.
• Throughout 1947 the Flamstead Guest House was listed daily as a Gleaner advertiser, but no ads found.
• In June 1948, the Guest House was listed for rent or lease.
• In July 1950, the hotel reopened for guests under new management. It is now Miss Orrett, or Mrs. Langlois.
• In July 1952, deck quoits was added to the list of activities. This was the last mention of the property in the Gleaner. See clipping.
• Even after Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, most of the existing structure of the great house was left standing.
• Today, only crumbled remnants of buildings and cottages remain. All covered with brush. The property can only be reached on foot. The aerial is my location guess.

More historical information, and a couple pictures, in the Gleaner article Flamstead - The Historical Heavyweight, by Keisha Hill.