#Movable house Patch
#Movable house windows

We are getting attuned to the notion of downsizing abodes and reducing our ecological footprint. These homes can be inspiring at a time when winding back to the lifestyle of a more sustainable era is becoming increasingly appealing to people who care about the future of the planet. Many are marvels of modern technology, fitted with turf roofs, solar heaters, photovoltaic systems, compost boxes, pocket gardens and sliding roofs. They are connected to electrical mains and have permanent septic tanks. They are larger, with a bathroom and kitchenette included indoors. Modern versions of chattel houses tend to be anchored to a concrete foundation instead of sitting on blocks or ground sill. Investments poured in and the chattel-house architectural style was adopted by private villas, boutique hotels and strings of shops, such as the pretty pastel Chattel Village in Holetown, St James parish. Today they can be seen mainly in Barbados and Trinidad, for the wooden houses can be flimsy in comparison to brick and cement structures, and these islands happen to be outside the hurricane belt.Īs Barbados gained in stature and popularity as a Caribbean destination, it became one of four places in the world, besides London, Paris and New York, to which the supersonic Concorde flew. Other islands of the West Indies adopted it too. The chattel house style became so popular that it extended to the local rum shops, outhouses and village markets.

“Barbados is more English than England sheself,” goes the saying, and these pieces of confection became one of the strongest links between the two islands. Also known locally as fretwork, the pretty lace-like patterns, usually painted white, decorated the roofs, windows, arches and balustrades, enhancing the charm of the homes. While the large plantation houses, churches and abbeys had Jacobean, Palladian and Regency styles of architecture, the humble chattel houses acquired a gingerbread-house feel with the addition of a single flourish-the hand-carved strips of latticework. The buildings they constructed reflected the structures of the home countries, and they became a matter of pride. If a worker was asked to leave or had a better job elsewhere, he would unstack it all, put the pieces on a donkey cart, head off and set it all up again.īarbados was colonized by the English in 1625, when other European powers, such as the French, Spaniards and Dutch, too were fighting fiercely for the islands of the Caribbean. The wooden beams slatted in without the use of nails, so they could also be taken apart with ease. From the late 17th century, the homes were set on a plinth, rather than embedded into the ground.

#Movable house Patch

Their houses would have to be abandoned, for the patch of land they stood on did not belong to them. These workers lived in small wooden homes, and if they were let go for any reason, they would be evicted from the land. English plantation owners had large sugarcane fields which were tended by workers brought in from Africa. The word “chattel”, in old English law, means movable property. These silent sentinels remind us of the grit and inventiveness of the plantation workers of the 17th century, for they have a trick up their sleeves-they are movable homes. Today, chattel houses are known for their aesthetics, affordability, and the story they represent. The bell-shaped window hoods and openable shutters are a feature of these iconic working-class homes imbued with history.

#Movable house windows

The simplest of these homes features a two-room floor plan, sloping roofs of corrugated iron, front porches, and two windows each on the front and side that let in light and breeze. The hue of the portico often contrasts sharply with the rest of the house ultramarine and orange, aubergine and fuchsia, lime-green and red. These small wooden homes, painted in deliriously joyful colours, leap out at you. The most delightful of these is the presence of innumerable free-standing chattel houses. The hinterland too is worthy of exploration, and venturing away from the glamorous coastline in a small car on sugarcane-trimmed roads is sure to bring unexpected discoveries around every bend. It’s also a place rich in history, tradition, sporting events, primeval forests, and the epic revelry brought on by the carnival in August. Barbados, a tiny, sun-suffused coral island in the southern Caribbean, is keenly sought out for the abundant sunshine, azure waters, soft-sand beaches, world-class restaurants and rental villas staffed with the friendliest folk.