Template:FP-Jamestown, St Helena

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Jamestown, St Helena

Jamestown, St Helena

Jamestown on the island of St Helena is the capital of the British overseas territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cuhna in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the island's port and the centre of the island's road and communications network.

Jamestown was founded in 1659 by the East India Company. It is built on igneous rock in a small cleft between steep cliffs so the town is long, thin and densely populated, with long and winding streets.

The town has some examples of British Georgian-era colonial architecture and many buildings are built out of local volcanic rock. St James' church (1774) and is the oldest Anglican church in the Southern Hemisphere. Jacob's Ladder, a staircase of 699 steps, was hewn from the rock in 1829 and connects Jamestown to the former fort on Ladder Hill. (Read more)