RECESSED on spacious grounds at Montrose Road, St Andrew, Vale Royal, the official residence of the prime minister, has been unoccupied for 14 years, used only for formal functions hosted by PJ Patterson during his tenure, which ended March 30 with his resignation.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, his successor, intends to continue that tradition, and will remain domiciled at her private St Andrew home with husband Errald Miller, says information minister Colin Campbell, in response to Sunday Observer queries.

“No, she will not be living there,” said Campbell. “She too, like the former prime minister, will be living at her own home.”

For more than a decade, Vale Royal has been used for state functions, ceremonies, and entertaining by Patterson, including an annual luncheon with members of Parliament and Christmas treats for children and the elderly.

Before Patterson, the late Michael Manley is said to have alternated between Vale Royal and Jamaica House, before moving permanently to his Washington Close home in St Andrew.

The two-storey five-bedroom creation was built in the 18th Century by Simon Taylor, said to have been one of the richest planters in the West Indies, and was the residence of the British colonial secretary.

Edward Seaga, the last prime minister to fully occupy the house, has lived at Vale Royal twice in different capacities.

“I lived at Vale Royal as Minister of Finance in the 1960s and I lived there on my return to office in the 1980s,” he told the Sunday Observer.

He moved there with his family in late 1981, following the Jamaica Labour Party’s crushing defeat of the People’s National Party (PNP) in the October 1980 general election.

Seaga said Vale Royal was formerly the state home for finance ministers in the 1960s, and that it was officially designated home of the premier during his tenure as head of government.

“It was not used as the prime minister’s residence. But I had no choice because I lived at one of the penthouse apartments at the Embassy apartments, and that just cannot satisfy the needs of persons coming to you. So that is the only other place I could go,” he said.

With two small children in 1981, Seaga said Vale Royal was ideal for his young family.

“It has a lovely and spacious entertainment area, plus three bedrooms upstairs and two smaller bedrooms.”

But, while it suited the former Prime Minister, he offered an explanation as to why other prime ministers have not lived there.

“My family was small, so it was okay. But prime ministers don’t like to move into a place like Vale Royal, because you would be leaving all your comforts, and you can’t do anything about what you see on the grounds,” he said.

Seaga, and his first wife Mitzie, and their young children Christopher and Annabella, lived at the Earl Levy restored residence until 1989, when the JLP lost the general election.

Apart from the entertainment area and master bedroom, “everything else you have to sort of ‘squinge’ yourself in,” he said, noting that the rooms were small.

But, that was not the reason National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamante did not reside there.

“Bustamante did not live there, because his knee couldn’t manage the stairs. So he lived at Jamaica House instead,” said Seaga.

Sir Alex, as he was sometimes called, became prime minister after independence in 1962.

Sir Donald Sangster, who was prime minister for only two months and died in office in April 1967, also resided at Vale Royal, but his successor Hugh Lawson Shearer never did.

Giving a little of the historical background of the house, Seaga said Vale Royal was one of the many palatial type plantation homes built on the Liguanea plain, where the city’s gentry lived.

He said he did not know much about the architecture of the house, but said then chief minister and National Hero Norman Manley had it repaired before the 1960s, and that more work had to be done on the structure after the 1980 election.

“When I went back in the 80s, it was in such a bad condition. So much stuff was missing, including the carpets and other things. We had to commission Earl Levy to do some restoration work, and he really did a fine job,” said Seaga.

Levy’s work include the pillars on the gate, the guard house, plus barracks at the back, which can house a small detachment of soldiers.

The Coat of Arms was taken from the Bank of Jamaica building and installed at the front of the house.

“Plus, a group of persons raised money to refurbish it and stock it with the necessary things, such as table ware,” said Seaga.

He adds that the house remains habitable.

“Nothing would prevent a Prime Minister from sleeping there as I believe the bedrooms are in order,” he said.

Simpson Miller on Wednesday played host at a luncheon for parliamentarians at Vale Royal, after the Throne Speech signalled the opening of Parliament for the 2006-07 legislative year.

virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com