St. John's Maroon Church
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St. John's Maroon Church is a Methodist church located in Maroon Town, a district of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.[1] It is one of the oldest churches in the country.[2]
The Jamaican Maroons were men, women and children, originating from Jamaica who had surrendered at the end of the Second Maroon War.[1] They had been deported to Nova Scotia by the colonial authorities in 1796.[1] They were then transported to Freetown in 1800, where their opportune arrival and assistance enabled the authorities put down a rebellion by some of the Nova Scotian Settlers, the founders of Freetown.[1] They settled in an area that became known as Maroon Town.[1]
The Maroons gradually gave up their African beliefs and converted to Christianity.[1][2] In 1820, they received a grant of land between Percival and Liverpool Street in Maroon Town.[1] Uncomfortable worshiping in Nova Scotian chapels, a group led by Charles Shaw built St. John's Maroon Church in 1822.[1] It is a small white building surrounded by a low white wall.[2]
While the Maroons gradually integrated into Freetown society, many of them continued to attend the church.[1] They followed their own brand of Methodism and maintained their independence of the Methodist establishment until 1900.[1][2] The congregation has dwindled, but still survives.[2] The 200th anniversary of the founding of the congregation of St John's Maroon Church was celebrated in 2007.[3]
The church was declared a national heritage site in 1956[1] under the Monuments and Relics Ordinance of 1 June 1947.