Chattel Houses

Just for fun I thought it might be interesting to post some pictures of “chattel houses” that are found all over Barbados. I took most of these pictures. Chattel house is a Barbadian name for a small movable wooden house that working class people would occupy. The term goes back to the plantation days when the working class home owners would build or buy houses designed to be moved from one property to another.

The word "chattel" actually means movable property. Chattel houses are set on blocks or a ground sill rather than being anchored into the ground. In addition, they are built entirely out of wood and assembled without nails. This allowed them to be disassembled (along with the blocks) and moved. This system was necessary historically because home "owners" typically did not own the land that their house was set on. Instead, their employer often owned the land. In case of a dispute, or change in work location, the house could be quickly moved to a new property.

It has been customary for people in Barbados to build additions onto their chattel houses. As such, the house may look as though different sections are at slightly different heights or in a different pattern due to each part being constructed at different stages.

The foundation elevates the house by three or four feet and this in turn allows air to circulate beneath the house to cool it.

The traditional early chattel house has a simple and non-ornamented “hipped” roof, which has four sides and is triangular in shape – like a pyramid.

Some of these old homes are now protected as heritage sites.

However, with the turn of the 20th century, the roofs became steep and gabled, with only two sides, and small louvered windows were added to enhance ventilation. Decorative wooden tracery - carved with intricate designs – often adorned the roof overhangs, and small front porches and hooded windows were also sometimes added. Unfortunately this home was visited by a fire, and mother nature is taking over again...

Modern chattel houses tend to have a greater degree of permanence, as they are often connected to electricity and water mains, and may either have a permanent septic tank or be connected to a public sewer system. Over time, they evolved both in style and detail, borrowing some elements, (e.g. entrance porches, window awnings, and fretwork), from the stately plantation houses. These ornate features added character and interest to the buildings. Built with pride, each of these wooden structures had its own unique character.

Chattel houses are now being utilized both as places of business and as tourist attractions, becoming a signature element of the local tourism brand. It is one aspect of the visual heritage of Barbados…all these adaptive reuses of chattel houses mean that somebody can, with a modest outlay, acquire a business place.

This is the renaissance of the chattel house, its architecture being a whole rich story of a people, blended into the history of the country.