Location
The estate began under Spanish rule and was given as a reward to Major Thomas Halse, who renamed it Halse Hall, when the English won the island from the Spanish in 1655. He built his great house in 1680 on the foundation of the Spanish hacienda, which sported a magnificent view of the 436-meter tall Mocho Mountains. He built his house like a fortress with thick walls. Security was further strengthened with British troops stationed at all four corners. The house served as the centre of his estate and a rallying point for defence. When Thomas Halse died in 1702, the Great House was still a single storey building.
It became a more imposing and beautiful two-storey structure in an era of security and prosperity during the late 1740s. The estate was then owned by Francis Saddler Halse. An elaborate arrangement of stone steps ascended to the new entrance, which was flanked by columns and capped with a fanlight. The peaked portico was added later to conform to a popular architectural style.
Historical
Negril, St. Ann
