A few minutes' walk uphill from Sam Sharpe Square, the St James Parish Church is the oldest standing Anglican church in Montego Bay, built in 1782 from cut limestone. The interior is plain and cool, with a fine carved pulpit and a clutch of marble memorials commemorating long-dead plantation owners and colonial officials — the everyday written record of the slave-era ruling class.
The church was badly damaged in the 1957 earthquake and lovingly rebuilt. The shaded churchyard, with its weathered tombstones and tall trees, is one of the few quiet spots in the downtown area.