[1] In 1655, following the English capture of Jamaica the site was given to Major Thomas Halse who came from Barbados with Penn and Venables.

By the late 1740s the building was owned by his son, Francis Saddler Halse, who developed the property into a more imposing and beautiful two-storey structure.

A new entrance was erected, accessed by an elaborate arrangement of stone steps flanked by columns and capped with a fanlight.

[3] The property belonged to Henry De la Beche who stayed there during 1823–24, while he made his geological survey of Jamaica.

[5] In December 1835 the estate was owned by the Hibbert family who received £3,523 11s 9d compensation when the 172 enslaved Africans were emancipated.