Long Hill bypass to avoid historic church, cemetery, says NROCC

WESTERN BUREAU:

The National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) says fears that the construction of the Long Hill bypass in St James will impact the Mount Carey Baptist Church and its cemetery are unwarranted.

During a recent consultation exercise at the church, congregants and residents of Montpelier, Anchovy, York Bush, and Mount Carey were anxious to get an update on the plans for the Long Hill bypass project, for which work started in the Montpellier area last Saturday.

“I know that a number of properties will be impacted by the road going just behind the church,” Errol Mortley, the environmental manager at NROCC, told residents. “In our design, we emphasised that the church and its cemetery, which have historical values, ought to be avoided, and that was done.”

The Mount Carey Baptist Church has had quite a storied history, and because it has managed to survive, residents see it as a symbol of strength and resilience.

It was first opened in 1829 and was named after Reverend William Carey, the first Baptist missionary to India, and was destroyed by the Colonial Church Union after the slave revolts in 1831.

The rebuilding of the church started in 1839 and was completed in 1840. However, tragedy struck again when the church was impacted by a hurricane in 1912 and an earthquake in 1957, resulting in significant damage to the church.

In 2008, the pastor of the church, the Reverend Dr George Simpson, who was vocal in condemning persons who were breaking into the church and stealing items, survived an attack in which he was shot and stabbed on the verandah of the church’s manse.

In December 2020, the church and an adjoining Christian Education Centre went up in flames, destroying several important artifacts. The fire was believed to be the work of arsonists.

With NROCC saying that the approximately 11-kilometre Long Hill bypass will not add drama to the church’s history, it brought a collective sigh of relief.

“We support the project because we know it will do a lot for the communities, especially in the area of eradicating traffic congestion,” said Kevin Stewart, the church’s current pastor.

“We are very grateful that the church is not [to be] affected directly because that would have meant a lot of adjustment for us.

“There are persons who would have played significant roles in the establishment of the church who are buried in the church cemetery. Mount Carey is a free village, and the church would have played a significant role in that, so there is no doubt that many of those pioneers would have been buried there also,” added Stewart.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com