The Importance of Chattel Houses Part 1: Design and Construction
Chattel houses are one of the cornerstones of Barbadian culture and society with a history dating back as far as the 1800s. Yet despite this, it remains under researched when compared to the plantation and government houses of the same era. The term chattel house comes from the phrase commonly used in wills ‘all my goods and chattel (Boldin 1982, 1). Herein, the word chattel is defined by the Mariam Webster dictionary as an item of tangible, movable or immovable property except real estate. Therefore, as many historians have already acknowledged this phrase is paradoxical, at least when viewed through European lens. Indeed, folk culture is often deemed lesser by the ruling class due to the power imbalance between them and the poor (in this case the white supremacy of colonialism). George Revill explains that folk culture, rather than this simple thing, is actually a system of local cultural reworkings, as individuals and social groups creatively make sense of the circumstances in which they live. Of course, this is applicable to the Barbadian experience, melding African, English and Creole practices in order to survive under the intense system they existed under. Chattel houses serve as the physical embodiment of these reworkings, reflecting both the cultural experiences of the people as well as their environmental circumstances (Folk and Popular Culture 2011). Ergo, this article will attempt to explore and illuminate this triumph called the chattel house.
The discussion of Barbadian culture is impossible to divorce itself from England. Like most of the world, the country was a colony of the English empire. Its earliest slave colony, Barbados was viewed as its ‘jewel’ with profits eclipsing even their African and Asian colonies despite its meagre 166 square miles, such was the power of sugar. Dr Hillary Beckles says that the wealth of this colony was so profitable that it defined slavery as the best practice in new business culture. Indeed, it was on the scarred backs of the enslaved where England found the capital to develop itself (Williams 1944), with individuals investing heavily into this practice becoming obscenely wealthy, expanding their business and increasing their social and political status. This, contrasted with the abject poverty and torturous conditions which the enslaved endured left them ill equipped upon their freedom. This scrutinizing eye on Barbados as well as the small size of the colony led to a far more complete anglicisation of the island than can be seen in the other Caribbean territories, most noticeably through the accent which can be said to sound Irish at times. Of course, it would be impossible to remove the aspects of West African culture as well as the tribes within them, this manifests itself through language with words like ‘Juk’ (Fulani), ‘duppy’ (Twi) and nyam (Manjaku, Luo and Pulaar) all having etymological roots in various African regions which can also be found throughout the entire Caribbean. And when two distinct cultures coexist within the same proximity syncretism always occurs, which, in the case of Barbados would be the aforementioned English and African cultures. This creole syncretism manifests itself most noticeably in the Barbadian accent and language with the word ‘wunna’ descending from the Igbo word ‘Unu’ and the word ‘tomay’ originating from the English word ‘ptomaine’, but also in cultural practices such as the landship. With this cultural backdrop we can examine the ways in which the chattel house came to be.
Through the design of chattel houses, one can clearly see the cultural syncretism which has marked Barbadian folk culture. Chattel houses are a blend of African and English styles manifesting itself in the visual structure of the homes. Indeed, these houses were influenced by the homes of the planters who in turn were influenced by the Georgian and Jacobean architectural styles. The late 16th to mid 17th centuries were dominated by Jacobean architecture, mainly focusing on round-arch arcades, shaped gables, finials and columns. This is exemplified in St Nicholas Abbey, one of the only remaining Jacobean houses in the Western Hemisphere joining its compatriot in Drax Hall.
Nicholas Abbey. Photograph. St Nicholas Abbey. (n.d.) https://www.stnicholasabbey.com/The-Plantation/The-Great-House/
Georgian style (1714-1830) was defined by the symmetrical windows, shutters, columns and hip roofs as evidenced in this photograph below (Geddes 2019).
W.L. Johnson & Co, A Country Residence, Barbados. Postcard. Circa 1910
Herein not only are the aforementioned traits exemplified but also the hip roof. Jay Edwards explains that the veranda seen in this image was a form of planter creole addition as their isolation from the main country led to their own innovations. It would be the Georgian style that would be the greater influence on chattel houses, possibly due to it being in style during the time of emancipation, as well as the fact that during the Jacobean era slaves lived in wattle and daub huts with thatched roofs. Indeed, chattel houses often mirrored the georgian symmetry and shutters, in fact it is rare to find houses without these features. However, the Jacobean style does indeed provide some influence, particularly with the usage of finials producing houses combining both Georgian and Jacobean features as shown below.
Noelle, Vernelle. Barbados Chattel House. Photograph. Flickr. June 11, 2011. https://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkinginsomniac/5907198753/in/album-72157627003318553/
However, as mentioned before, no discussion of bajan folk practice can be complete without the influence of African culture. This applied itself in the slave huts of their former abode which they were forced to construct and repair themselves. As they were responsible for constructing their own houses, the obvious assumption to be made would be that they used the methods and techniques already instilled in them from their homeland with the touches of change due to their new environ. The evidence for this can be seen in wattle and daub houses that still exist today in Ghana, one of the areas where slaves were taken from (Cornibert 2015). However, few if any of these wattle and daub houses remain in Barbados today.
Barbadian slave huts
Wattle-and-Daub Thatched Houses. Barbados. Photograph. Slavery Images: A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora. (n.d) http://www.slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/item/1402
Ghanaian wattle and daub hut
Vernacular Wattle-and-Daub Building Near Kpong. Photograph. Society of Architectural Historians. (n.d). https://www.sah.org/publications-and-research/sah-blog/sah-blog/2014/11/07/greater-accra-and-cape-coast
Mongori Atakpamé Hut found in northern Ghana
Mongori Dwellings. Photograph. The Cultural Encyclopedia. (n.d.) https://www.culturalencyclopaedia.org/an-architectural-history-of-ghana-entry
While these mongori dwellings are constructed via the rammed earth method, usually used in areas where wood was relatively scarce. The similarities between the slave huts and these Ghanaian constructions are too great to ignore, as all three of them are almost identical. The biggest similarity however is the thatched, gable roof which lends itself as the biggest influence upon chattel house design (Edwards 1983, 178). It should be noted that as time went on these slaves shifted to stone houses, still maintaining the thatched roof, but with a hip style.
A stone slave hut.
Slave Hut in Tyrol Cot. Photograph. St. Nicholas Abby. (n.d.) http://www.stnicholasabbey.com/The-Plantation/The-Estate/
As Dr Radhika Kapur explains, the physical environment serves as both the influencer and preserver of folk culture including housing, architecture, materials, floor plans as well as exterior and interior decorations (Kapur 2018, 3-5). Barbados exists in a tropical climate averaging between 23°C and 31°C with a near constant trade wind, reliably arriving from the northeast throughout the entire year (Bolden 1982, 20). Chattel houses were built with these conditions in mind, designed to fill the bedroom with morning sunlight whilst still remaining cool by trapping the wind (Watson and Potter 1992, 14). This was a combination effort, not only were the houses constructed in such a way that it faced the wind, but the windows trapped and circulated said winds, keeping the house cool. The trapping of the wind was achieved by the jalousies on the windows, the slope of which allowed for the wind to travel through and reach the back of the house. In addition, there is an air vent of sorts at the top of each short side of the house where the hot air would
Barbadian chattel house, note the gabled roof and jalousie windows as well as the air vent and shutters.
Chattel House. Photograph. Go Barbados. (n.d.) https://barbados.org/chattel.htm#.YfYuAurMLIU
escape keeping the house cool (Bolden 1982, 22). While there is a rainy season, as becoming of a tropical climate rain falls throughout the year. Therefore, the galvanised or shingled roof was introduced in order to provide a sound protection against the rain as an improvement from the thatched roof. The most extreme conditions the houses had to be able to withstand were hurricanes which were combated via the gable roof. This roof was constructed by connecting two parts, each on the long side of the house that slope up and meet to form a very high 45° pitch as seen in the image above. This high pitch is useful because it allows for very little wind to gather under the roof to pull it off. The four hip roof was introduced shortly after, optimising hurricane protection by removing the ability for wind to gather underneath altogether by sloping upwards from all sides of the house (Bolden 1982, 21) as demonstrated in this image below.
Chattel house boasting a hip roof
Moses, Harold. Chattel House, Barbados. Photograph. Flickr. December 6, 2017. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosesharold/25231045618
Uprights were constructed of pitch pine supports with the siding attached to them, each side carrying two corner uprights, held together by penny nails or the interlocking mortise and tenon. This would allow for the dismantling of the house during moving. Roofs were similarly readily deconstructed, evenly spaced and joined by bolts which allowed for easy separation, in addition to the roofing being nailed to the rafters in such a way that dismantling the roof did not require removing the roofing (Bishop 2007, 20). The foundations for these chattel houses were usually loosely packed limestone, quarried in the eighteenth century and sawn in the nineteenth (Bishop 2007, 20). This supporting base was equipped with a support where each corner of the house would be, one where the doors and windows were expected to be and additional support in the middle where the house was weak (Bolden 1982, 17). We can see that these houses were clearly meant to be movable, and that will be discussed in the next part of this series as we tackle the tenantry system
Folk culture dictates that the environment, both physical, cultural and socioeconomical plays a role in the construction of folk architecture. Bishop expounds on this, positing that the materials available and the financial ability of the homeowners influenced the traditional architecture (Bishop 2007). Chattel houses were made entirely of wood in the mortise and tenon fashion by skilled technicians, but also through the hammer and nails method by ordinary carpenters (Bolden 1982, 17) with a corrugated iron roof or more expensive wooden shingles depending on the economic availability of the homeowner (Bolden 1982, 20).
Therefore, in conclusion one can see how folk culture has affected the design and construction of the chattel house. Particularly how the historical, environmental and cultural aspects of Barbadian society influenced chattel houses. Firstly through the design characteristics of the Georgian, Jacobean and African styles, as well as the air cooling abilities of the jalousie window and vents and hurricane defying roofs. And lastly the impact of the socioeconomic standing on the materials used by homeowners.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boldin, Phinorice. The Barbados Chattel House. Hamilton , New York : Colgate University, 1982.
Cornibert, Matthew. “BHM: Slave Houses in Barbados.” NationNews Barbados nationnewscom. Nation Publishing Co., December 24, 2019. https://www.nationnews.com/2015/02/28/bhm-slave-houses-in-barbados/.
Edwards, Jay D. “The First Comparative Studies of Caribbean Architecture.” New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 57, no. 3-4 (1983): 173–200. https://doi.org/10.1163/13822373-90002091.
Jennifer Kelly Geddes creates content for WhatToExpect.com. “What Is Georgian Architecture? Symmetry and Sophistication Reign Supreme.” Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®, January 23, 2019. https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-georgian-architecture/.
Juliao, David. “Jacobean Era Architecture: Design, Style & Examples.” Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://study.com/academy/lesson/jacobean-era-architecture-design-style-examples.html#:~:text=Jacobean%20designs%20incorporated%20Palladian%20classical,windows%20were%20important%20architectonic%20elements.
Kapur, Radhika. “Environment Building through Folk Culture,” 2018.
Revill, George. “Folk Culture and Geography.” obo. Oxford University Press. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199874002/obo-9780199874002-0092.xml.
Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. Upper Saddle River, NJ, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011.
Watson, Mark R., and Robert B. Potter. Housing and Housing Policy in Barbados: The Relevance of the Chattel House. London; Egham: University of London, 1992.