Preserving the rich cultural heritage of Falmouth, Jamaica: A case study

Parrent, James M. (2005) Preserving the rich cultural heritage of Falmouth, Jamaica: A case study. In: 15th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Monuments and sites in their setting - conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes’, 17 – 21 oct 2005, Xi'an, China. [Conference or Workshop Item]

[img]
Preview
PDF
3-27.pdf

Download (192kB)

Abstract (in English)

Falmouth, located on Jamaica’s north coast near Montego Bay, is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved Georgian Period historic towns. It was declared a National Monument by the Jamaican Government in 1996 and is listed as one of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monument Fund. Restoration efforts led by Dr. James Parrent Executive Director of Falmouth Heritage renewal are ongoing. To date 20 small houses and two large buildings have been restored. Most of the buildings within the historic district have been examined as part of the restoration project. Assessments have been made as to what type of intervention is required to stabilize the historic buildings and what is required for their restoration. During the assessment process it was noted that bricks on some historic buildings were severely deteriorate while on other buildings of the same period or older they were sound and well preserved. Further investigation revealed that the most severely eroded bricks were those that had been lain with or had been repointed with Portland cement mortar. This paper discusses the problems with and the destruction cause by using Portland cement to repair or repoint historic brick and stone structures and offers the obvious solution of manufacturing and using traditional lime based mortar.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Authors:
Authors
Email
Parrent, James M.
UNSPECIFIED
Languages: English
Keywords: historic towns; heritage at risk; restoration project; restoration of monuments; masonry; portland cement; lime mortar; building materials
Subjects: E.CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 12. Techniques
E.CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 03. Monuments
C.ARCHITECTURE > 04. Building materials
H.HERITAGE TYPOLOGIES > 12. Historic towns and villages
Name of monument, town, site, museum: Falmouth, Jamaica
ICOMOS Special Collection: Scientific Symposium (ICOMOS General Assemblies)
ICOMOS Special Collection Volume: 2005, 15th
Depositing User: Jose Garcia
Date Deposited: 24 Nov 2010 17:12
Last Modified: 13 Jan 2011 19:15
References: 1. Potter, A.R.D. 1990. Jamaica: A Geological Portrait. 32p.

2. Porter A.R.D., Jackson, T.A. and Robinson, E., 1982. Minerals and Rocks of Jamaica. Jamaica Publishing House, Kingston, Jamaica
URI: https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/383

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Metadata

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

© ICOMOS
https://www.icomos.org/en
documentation(at)icomos.org