“Regardless,” located in the parish of St. Andrew, holds a deep personal and historical significance for Jamaica, particularly for the Rt. Excellent Norman Manley, National Hero, former Premier, and Founder of the People’s National Party. In 1962, after the sale of their original family home, Drumblair, Norman and Edna Manley moved to “Regardless.” The sale of Drumblair, which went for £30,000 to a developer named Maurice Facey, was necessary to settle Norman Manley’s debts. As noted by Rachel Manley, the family relocated to “Regardless,” a small house built on a small parcel of land from the Drumblair estate. Edna Manley, reflecting on this transition, wrote in her diary on November 18, 1961: “Drumblair is sold, that’s the end of a very long book. I am building a little house on a toe-hold of land.”
“Regardless” was constructed by A.D. Scott around 1962, providing the Manley family a modest but peaceful retreat. In her diary, Edna Manley also described life at the new home. After settling in, she wrote on September 3, 1962: “We have been in ‘Regardless’ now for four months. Drumblair had been taken down and sold for old lumber. We have lost the elections; suddenly this little house, which I have always loved since we moved in two days after the election, has an atmosphere of peace.”
This modest home became the final residence of Norman and Edna Manley, where they lived until their respective deaths. In an oral history interview, their son, Douglas Manley, shared that his parents continued to call “Regardless” home for the remainder of their lives. Today, “Regardless” stands as a symbol of the Manley family’s enduring legacy, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in their remarkable journey.