Barbados Chattel Houses

Barbados was settled by the same gentleman planters who settled the colony of South Carolina. A lot of connections exist between these two places, from the Bajan dialect that bears a close resemblance to the South Carolina Gullah dialect, to farming practices that were developed in Barbados and transferred to South Carolina plantations. But the most visible is the similarity in architecture. The jalousie windows and sweeping verandas that grace grand old South Carolina houses also decorate many Bajan homes. Georgian and Victorian style great houses line streets in Bridgetown and Charleston. However,the most distinctive Bajan architecture is purely Caribbean.

The chattel house is basically an old school mobile home. Simple wooden houses placed on limestone blocks, chattel houses are designed to be taken apart in a day. The term comes from the days when plantation workers journeyed from different estates, working the fields and leasing the land that they lived on. Their movable possessions or chattel, were their houses and these had to be easily moved in case of landlord disputes or the end of a growing season. Although I've heard the term chattel house in Trinidad and Jamaica, I'd never seen one until I visited Barbados. These houses make up an important part of Bajan history and I saw them everywhere.

They boast gable roofs created from iron to withstand the heavy winds and rain of hurricane season. Chattel houses often have shutters to keep out the heat and interior walls with spaces at the top to catch every breeze. They are reported to be much cooler than regular houses. Although it's not a common housing choice anymore, people still live in chattel houses either handed down through the family or freshly built on undeveloped land. I was happy to discover that there's a movement to restore and preserve Barbados chattel houses. I think they serve as a colorful example of Bajan character and innovation.