The hospital and other buildings are also of a character superior to those usually met with. The first named has Corinthian pilasters of considerable beauty. Guns, too, that formerly protected the property from buccaneers, are still _in situ_. In front of the house is a vaulted chamber, half dug out of the rock, which is said to have been designed as a place of refuge in case of hurricane. It measures some 7 feet by 20 feet, and is 10 feet high, with walls some 2 feet thick. The house attracted the attention of Hakewill, who included it in his “Picturesque Tour” (1825), the drawings of which were made in 1820–1. John Blagrove, who was proprietor shortly before Hakewill visited the island, was born at Cardiff Hall, but was sent, like the majority of planters’ sons in those days, at an early age to England. He received his education at Eton, and afterwards passed a considerable time in travelling. On his return to Jamaica he occasionally took an active part in the discussions which occurred in the House of Assembly, to which he was returned by his native parish, St. Ann, in 1787. The only member of the family to sit in the Assembly before him was his father, Thomas Blagrove, who had represented Hanover in 1755. He (Thomas Blagrove) died in that year, when only 21 years of age, leaving a widow and one son. He was buried at Maggotty. During the Maroon war John Blagrove was most actively engaged, and shared in its privations and dangers. He, Hakewill tells us, bestowed the greatest attention to improvement of the breed of cattle on his several pens. He imported into the island some of the best-bred horses England ever produced, and his liberality and public spirit were rewarded by the high price which his stock, particularly his horses, always commanded. He was a successful competitor on many occasions for the cup given at the races held in the parish of St. Ann; in fact, his horses for the most part beat the whole field. The Blagrove stables were successful in other races as well. On the flat land by Runaway Bay the memory of the old private racecourses on which the horses were trained is still preserved in the names of three pastures. In Palache’s “Jamaica Stud Book” John Blagrove is recorded as having imported for racing purposes Lurcher, a bay colt, bred in 1789, and Buzzard, imported in 1809. For many years previous to his decease John Blagrove was resident in England. He died at Great Abshot, near Titchfield, in Hampshire, in 1824. At this period, when the whole system of colonial slavery was being severely criticized, Blagrove was always considered by his slaves as a most kind and humane master. His will states: