Carlisle Fort
One of the five forts on Port Royal, Carlisle Fort sank in the earthquake of 1692
Produce Market
Court House
Gallows Point
Marshall's Prison
Gun Bay
Fort Charles
Of the five forts on Port Royal, Fort Charles was the only one that survived the earthquake of 1692
Fort Walker
One of the five forts on Port Royal, Fort Walker sank in the earthquake of 1692
Warehouses in the late 1680's
Chocolate Hole - A port/cove/harbour
Meat Market
Turtle Crawls
Fish Market
Port Royal Harbour
Turtle Market
North Docks
Primarily housing and indiviual shops
Queen Street
Given that Port Royal was almost entirely surrounded by water, the majority of its harbour side buildings were warehouses in order to create ease of access for loading and unloading ships, as can be seen in the map above. The central areas were therfore where the majority of private houses were with many people having around 60 feet square on average to be able to build their houses. Due to the large number of inhabitants in Port Royal (6500 people until the earthquake in 1692) most of the habitational areas were incredibly built up as can be seen below in the excavated area on New Street; overall there were 2000 individual houses on Port Royal before the earthquake.18
General Layout of Port Royal
After the Earthquake
After the earthquake in 1692, 33 acres (around 66% of Port Royal) including the majority of the northern section fell into the sea, leaving only around 25 acres of land remaining.20 Only those building on the southern section survived.
Customs House
19
21
Sephardic Jewish Synagogue
This map has been created using a combination of primary and secondary sources, in order to best establish the layout of Port Royal prior to 1692. Below you will find an interactive map that will allow you to press on the buttons to identify the individual buildings that stood in their place.
Building Map of Port Royal, 1692
Fort James
One of the five forts on Port Royal, Fort James sank in the earthquake of 1692
Catt and Fiddle Tavern
Kings Wharf and Warehouses
Sea lane and common landing place
Admirality Court
State Warehouses
Vessels moor along Thames street in Merchants Quay to unload
Governors House/Mansion
Kings House and Warehouses
Herb and Fruit Market
Society of Artillery in Jamaica
Paslisadoes Split to the right of Fort Rupert
Cemetery beyond the Palisadoes
Fort Rupert
One of the five forts on Port Royal, after the earthquake Fort Rupert became a large pool of water seperating Port Royal from the Palisadoes