Carolyn Cooper | Digging up dirt on Lady Musgrave Road

Last February, property owners on Lady Musgrave Road were issued notices that some of their land would be acquired by the Government for infrastructure development. The widening of Lady Musgrave Road and East King’s House Road is intended to ease the flow of traffic along this heavily trafficked corridor. But residents of long-established neighbourhoods who will be impacted have vigorously protested against what they see as a short-sighted solution to a long-term problem.

On October 12, 2021, The Gleaner published a letter by Ann Hodges, an architect who lives on Lady Musgrave Road. The headline posed a fundamental question: “Highway or avenue?” Hodges argued that “Jamaica and Kingston are suffering from a lack of joined-up planning. We are seeing a race to high-density development without any plans in place for the parks or walkable streets that would allow residents to access services”.

Hodges asked urgent questions that government agencies are, apparently, not prepared to answer: “Why does the National Works Agency plan for vehicles without planning for pedestrians? What is our transport policy? Why are we not planning for a public urban transport system that even an MP or CEO would be comfortable using?”

MALICIOUS RUMOUR

There’s another kind of dirt that is being dug up on Lady Musgrave Road. The public debate on widening the road has revived a malicious rumour about Lady Musgrave that has been in circulation for decades. In a Facebook post on May 25, 2017, the National Library of Jamaica repeats the troubling story:

“Though unconfirmed, it is believed that Lady Musgrave Road was built at her request to bypass Hope Road and the home of Jamaica’s first black millionaire, George Steibel (sic). Lady Musgrave took offence to (sic) having to pass Steibel’s (sic) ‘Devon House’ and was shocked that a black man had managed to build such a prominent house in close proximity to the Governor’s residence.” Why is the National Library spreading this rumour instead of attempting to confirm whether or not the road was constructed before the arrival of the Musgraves?

In a Facebook post written on July 31, 2019, the genealogist Dianne Golding-Frankson persuasively speculates about the origin of the unsubstantiated story about Lady Musgrave Road: “The timing of this fallacy is interesting as it coincides with the redevelopment of Devon House in the mid-1980s as a museum/recreational centrepiece, especially after being saved from the Rastafarian squatters who had captured the house in the 1970s. This auspicious timing is suspicious, to say the least. Like another grand house which was saved from the clutches of ruin and given new life with a handy colourful tale of a white woman gone mad and angry and murderous as its theme, located in St. James, we too in Kingston couldn’t be undone, so here comes Lady Musgrave the mad racist.” The white witch of Devon House!

FACT VERSUS FICTION

Somewhat contradictorily, the National Library also documents the facts about Lady Musgrave’s contribution to Jamaican society: “Lady Musgrave founded ‘The Lady Musgrave Self – Help Society’ in 1879 on Church Street. It was the first society of its kind in Jamaica for the encouragement of arts & crafts and their marketing. The Society provided work for people all over the island.” The Gleaner Archives confirms that Mrs Charles Campbell collaborated with Lady Musgrave to establish the self-help society.

Furthermore, Lady Musgrave did not name the society after herself. That was done in her honour after she left Jamaica. It seems unlikely that a woman who believed we should help ourselves would begrudge a man who went abroad to seek his fortune and returned quite wealthy. I do know that there are people who will help you to advance in life, but they do not want you to surpass them. Was Lady Musgrave like that?

Mr Stiebel became the custos of St Andrew. He would have been entitled to visit King’s House. Even if she wanted to, Lady Musgrave could not have persuaded her husband to stop Mr Stiebel from driving into King’s House in his grand carriage. And it must please her duppy to see all the art and craft fairs that are held at Devon House. Mr Stiebel’s grounds! Lady Musgrave was a visionary. We should stop spreading vicious rumours about her.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

In response to my column, “Giving Governor Musgrave his due,” published on March 31, Hugh Small sent an intriguing email. He had an idea he wished to share with me. Small is a member of the Constitutional Reform Committee that was set up in 2022 to review a range of matters, including the contested issue of Jamaica becoming a republic. Small proposed that symbolic changes could be made immediately.

I agree. Those streets downtown named King, Queen, Princess and Duke could honour distinguished Jamaicans. Small suggested that Lady Musgrave Road could be renamed. Not because of the bad-mind rumours about her! Instead, Small recommended that the road could pay tribute to a distinguished woman who actually lived on Lady Musgrave Road: Mrs Amy Jacques Garvey.

I’ve come up with a compromise. The Lady Musgrave self-help society no longer exists, as far as I can tell. The road bearing Lady Musgrave’s name is now the singular sign of the important work she did to improve the lives of underprivileged Jamaicans. I’m proposing that the name of the road from King’s House to Seaview Avenue be retained. From there, it could become Amy Jacques Garvey Avenue. Even more important than the name of the road is the future of urban development in Jamaica. The proposed transformation of Lady Musgrave Road is a test case of our national priorities. Do politicians really put people first?

Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.