St. John's Maroon Church in Freetown

St. John's Maroon Church is a Methodist church located in Maroon Town, a district of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.[1] It is one of the oldest churches in the country.[2]

The Jamaican Maroons were men, women and children, originating from the Jamaica in the Caribbean, who had surrendered at the end of the Second Maroon War in Jamaica.[1] They had been deported to Nova Scotia by the colonial authorities in 1796.[1] They were then transported to Freetown in 1800, where their opportune arrival and assistance enabled the authorities put down a rebellion by some of the Nova Scotian Settlers, the founders of Freetown.[1] They settled down in an area that became known as Maroon Town.[1]

The Maroons gradually gave up their African beliefs and converted to Christianity.[1][2] In 1820, they received a grant of land between Percival and Liverpool Street in Maroon Town.[1] Uncomfortable worshiping in Nova Scotian chapels, a group led by Charles Shaw Harding built St. John's Maroon Church in 1822.[1] It is a small white building surrounded by a low white wall.[2]

While the Maroons gradually integrated into Freetown society, many of them continued to attend the church.[1] They followed their own brand of Methodism and maintained their independence of the Methodist establishment until 1900.[1][2] The congregation has dwindled, but still survives.[2] The 200th anniversary of the founding of the congregation of St John's Maroon Church was celebrated in 2007.[3]

The church was declared a national heritage site in 1956[1] under the Monuments and Relics Ordinance of 1 June 1947.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "St. John's Maron (sic) Church". Monuments and Relics Commission. Archived from the original on 2017-02-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "St. John's Maroon Church, Freetown". sierraleoneheritage.org.
  3. ↑ CCEP Foundation

8°29′09″N 13°14′12″W / 8.4858°N 13.2366°W / 8.4858; -13.2366

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