Chattel Houses (Barbados)

Chattel houses are the quintessential image of Barbados' architectural heritage. These rectangular wooden structures were introduced in the 19th Century out of necessity and pragmaticism. Today, these houses range from small and humble to colorful and elaborate. Their conditions range from well-kept and majestic, while others are beyond repair. Barbados' once-up-on-a-time moveable chattel houses are iconic. These houses are spread all over the island.

Two factors contributed to the creation of chattel houses. Unlike mountainous Caribbean islands, such as the Commonwealth of Dominica and Jamaica, Barbados is relatively flat. Also, at the end of slavery in 1834, most of the 166 square miles of the island were cultivated and owned. While freed slaves in Dominica and Jamaica moved to uncultivated areas in the mountains, far-removed from plantations, most freed slaves in Barbados (between 1834 and 1838) stayed on plantation lands and paid rent. The decision to stay came with the risk of random eviction by plantation owners turned landlords. Emancipation gave former slaves the legal right to move off plantation land to seek financial opportunities elsewhere.

Moveable Chattel houses offered freed slaves homeownership in the absence of land ownership.

Think of chattel houses as Lego houses you can build up, dismantle and re-erect in a day. The small original structures, also known as basic chattel houses, were made of four wooden walls, a shingled roof, a wooden door, and wooden window frames. The house was then placed on stone blocks up to three feet off the ground to protect the wood from termites and rot. When the owners wanted to move, they dismantled the houses and used ox or mule carts to transport their homes.

Until the end of the 19th Century, mobility was key to home design and construction.

At the start of the 20th Century, as wealth reached former slave communities, this influenced the chattel house designs. Houses became larger to show the improved economic and social standing of the owners. This was especially the case with the return of migrants from Panama, known as "silver men." Wealth brought in by these workers meant homeowners could now also become landowners. Chattel houses no longer needed to be mobile, so coral stone blocks and rubble gave way to a solid foundation. Front doors were built to copy the doors of "plantation great houses". Before Barbados gained Independence from Britain in 1966, most chattel houses were painted a uniform grey and occasionally brown. With wealth and Independence, chattel houses became more vibrant and personalized.

The modification to chattel houses was not just socio-economic. They were also pragmatic. For example, the single roofs were replaced by steeper gabled roofs, two roof sections sloping in opposite directions, and a triangular hat. These new roofs allowed for better ventilation and cooler rooms. The gabled roofs also provided better equalization of pressure inside and outside the house in a hurricane.

Fascinating, right?! I thought so. When I arrived in Barbados in March 2020, I was immediately struck by the chattel houses. Old buildings show a country's architectural heritage. When the first COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were lifted, I spent hours walking around Barbados searching for chattel houses. As luck would have it, the previous tenant of the rental I occupied left an autographed copy of Barbados Chattel Houses, a coffee-table book first published in 2011 by Henry Fraser and Bob Kiss. The book covers the history, structure, and preservation of chattel houses. The question remains, will the book stay in the guesthouse? Okay, okay, I promise it will.

If you are into architecture, here are some places you can visit to see many chattel houses in one place.

Chattel Village and St. Lawrence Gap

Chattel Village, located in the west of the island, and St. Lawrence Gap, located in the South of the island, are tourist-oriented shopping plazas of chattel houses.

Heritage Village at Tyrol Cot

Heritage Village is a museum located in the parish of St. Michaels in the Southwest, showcasing replicas of chattel houses.

If you would like a dedicated tour, check out Chattel House Audio Tours (CHAT) . I have not tried the tour company. Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for for the tour but the review are good.

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