"An Englishman has an inalienable right to live wherever he chooses", said Winston Churchill, and actor-playwright-artist Noel Coward did just that -

- finding in his "dream island" of Jamaica the perfect place to live out the last decades of his life. His former residence, Firefly, now a protected property under the auspices of the National Heritage Foundation Trust, is an English-style cottage surrounded by wide green lawns and perched high atop a hill, midway between Oracabessa and Port Maria.

 

Visitors are greeted by a hospitable guide who hands out fruit punch or rum cocktails then leads the group to Coward's art studio, where he was schooled in oil painting by Winston Churchill. The studio displays Coward's paintings and photographs of his coterie of famous friends, including Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, David Niven, Errol Flynn, Marlene Dietrich, Katherine Hepburn and John Gielgud. Videotapes and gramophone recordings of Coward's work are also played for visitors and there is a gift store, bar and restaurant.

Firefly - located on a lush hillside 1000 feet above Blue Harbour - was the former residence of the infamous buccaneer and first governor of Jamaica, Sir Henry Morgan. Once known as "Lookout", Coward renamed it Firefly in 1956 after the lightning bugs that would hover around, illuminating the night sky.

 

Opening Hours:Mon-Thu and Sat 8.30am-5pm

 

 

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