UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many
buildings are built out of local volcanic rock.
St James' church
dates from 1774 and is the oldest
Anglican
church in the Southern Hemisphere. Two
other notable churches in the town are the (Anglican)
St John's
and the (Catholic) Sacred Heart, both
in the Upper part. Jamestown has more than half of the island's listed
buildings, a designation for buildings of historic or architectural merit.
Another of the town's prominent
features is
Jacob's Ladder, a
staircase of 699 steps, built in 1829 to connect Jamestown to the former fort
on Ladder Hill. The ladder is very popular with tourists, is lit at night and a
timed run takes place there every year, with people coming from all over the
world to take part.
Being the island's
only port (and with the proposed
airport yet to be built) the town
is the only entrance to the island to visitors, and can be especially busy with
tourists when a cruise ship stops just off the coast. The Museum of Saint Helena is situated in Jamestown, one
