From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jamestown

Jamestown (population c. 1,000) is a harbour and the capital of Saint Helena. It was founded in 1659 by the East India Company. The town's most prominent feature is Jacob's Ladder with 699 steps, built in 1829 to connect Jamestown to the post on Ladder Hill, still used today. The ladder is very popular with tourists, is beautifully lit at night and a timed run takes place there every year, with people coming from all over the world to take part. Population has been shrinking, in line with the shrinking island population as a whole but also as a result of the growth of St. Helena's 'suburb', Half Tree Hollow.

The town has some very fine examples of British Georgian era Colonial Architecture and is proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many buildings are also built out of volcanic rock from the local area. The town is complete with a church, and port facilities for unloading goods delivered to the island. Jamestown is the main centre of the island's road network and communications. The town is in a small enclave, sandwiched between some large steep cliffs, which are not adequate for building. Therefore Jamestown is quite densely populated, and is rather long and thin, it also has a large number of tightly knit long and winding streets, with shrubs and trees poking out of a few street corners. The settlement is built on a large amount of igneous rock. The temperature in this area is some 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the island, because of the difference in altitude between Jamestown and the rest of the island. The terrain is rough and steep. The surrounding waters can be quite rough at times, and there is a sea wall to protect the settlement.

• St Helena - Jamestown
• More pictures of Jamestown