Historic Chattel Houses of Barbados, A Very Real Part of Paradise
Ever since my first visit to Barbados in 2005 I have found those wooden houses that I would occasionally see dotted around the Island an interesting sight. You would see them in various conditions, some would be in a total state of disrepair, others were well maintained and looked in fine condition. What amazed me the most would be when I come across a real run down wooden house next door to a what is very obviously a expensive house worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. These wooden houses in Barbados are of course called Chattel Houses, Chattel is Bajan slang for small wooden house.
The Chattel house was originally designed by the early plantation workers. What I find truly amazing is that the Chattel House is actually a mobile house, which can be quite easily dismantled and taken apart and rebuilt on another location. The word chattel actually means moveable property so the name is highly appropriate.
There was a very good reason for the original design of the Chattel House by the plantation workers. Because they didn’t own the land that their houses sat on, and the fact that the plantation workers could be sacked without much notice and then ordered off the land. It made good economic sense to have a house that was moveable.
The original Chattel House was built to a certain design standard, the house is set on concrete blocks as opposed to being set on a proper and more permanent foundation, as I said earlier the house was built from wood, the roof is made of corrugated iron, and they also have steep gable roofs, which are ideal for lessening the impact of hurricanes. The roofs angle is seemingly good for deflecting the wind, instead of lifting it off. For windows the old Chattel Houses had shutter-like jalousies that could be opened and closed when required . Nowadays most of them have been upgraded to glass windows. Another great aspect of the Chattel House is that it is relatively easy to add another room as and when the owners needs change.
I personally feel that Chattel Houses are unique and important part of the history of Barbados. Every time I pass one I cant help but look at it, no matter what condition the house is in. I would like to see more done to perhaps renovate some of the more dilapidated ones that I see scattered all over Barbados.
There is a beautiful example of a Chattel House just 5 minutes walk from where I live, it has very obviously being well looked after and is still lived in. The owners have a coconut tree, breadfruit tree, lime tree and banana tree in their smallish back garden; it looks like a good house to live in. That house is the picture at the top of the article.
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Bridgetown, Barbados
Bridgetown, Barbados
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[...] 2. Historic Chattel Houses of Barbados, A Very Real Part of Paradise [...]
thats a big one. they probably started off a bit smaller and added on as they needed more space or got more money