The Barbados Chattel House

by Bill and Maggie
(Canada)

We first visited Barbados in the 1970’s and fell in love with the weather, the people and of course the spectacular turquoise waters and the picture perfect beaches.

There were also a number of things that were quiet peculiar to this little paradise among them were the charming little chattel houses with their adorable floral gardens.

Over the years we’ve been very impress with the progress the island has made and the level of development has been plausible.

But what has worry us is the disappearance of the quaint little chattel houses, recently while on vacation I realized that one of my favourite chattel houses on the west coast was for sale.

It got me thinking that it would be sad if this Barbadian symbol we’ve all come to appreciate and love were to all disappear


Editors Reply

The chattel house is a significant part of Barbados history that dates back to the mid 1800’s when the slaves were emancipated.

This unique concept of a movable house was rooted in the fact that the house was built on plantation lands. This design enabled tenants to move at short notice if the plantation owner evicted them.

In recent time more Barbadians own the land on which they build their houses therefore there is no need to fear eviction.

Homes are built permanent hence this peculiar Barbadian house is becoming a thing of the past.

However it is unlikely to totally disappear from the island’s landscape d mainly because the Barbados National Trust founded in 1961 has a mandate to preserve buildings of historic and architectural heritage.

A visit to the Tyrol Cot heritage village will reveal good examples of this charming Barbadian home

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