Barbados Chattel Houses (First edition)

Henry Fraser's survey of this iconic folk architecture

Author

Henry Fraser, and Bob Kiss

Publisher

Toute Bagai Publishing, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 2011

Printing Details

First edition. Hardback in illustrated boards. 26 × 31cm, 176pp.

Henry Fraser provides a comprehensive architectural and social history of one of the most iconic symbols of Barbadian heritage. The "chattel house" (from the word capital, meaning moveable property) is a unique vernacular style born out of the post-emancipation era. The book explores how these structures were a direct response to the Located Labourers Act of 1840. Since former slaves did not own the land they lived on, they developed a system of modular, timber houses that could be dismantled and moved to a new plantation or village in a single day if a tenant was evicted. Fraser argues that the chattel house represents the resilience and ingenuity of the Barbadian people. He chronicles the evolution from the basic "pawn" house to the more elaborate "managerial" versions, tracing the rise of the Barbadian middle class.

Illustrated throughout with fine photographs by Bob Kiss.

Condition

This copy is in very good condition, but there are one or two small indentations to the boards and a little discoloration to the upper board. However, the book remains in strong readable condition and the contents are very clean.