I visited a Barbados National Trust Open House event at Clifton Hall plantation in the parish of St. John in Barbados. It was an extremely captivating experience, as we explored the colonial plantation space, located in the lush, green countryside of the island. Reaching back into the past and examining the landscape and buildings that were once paramount to the very existence of this island made it more than a tour, it was a journey. I was transported to a time when this space, tranquil and beautiful as it is today, was a real, and early part of the epicenter, the heartbeat of colonialization and slavery and all that those things meant to this then British colony. Today, while the majestic Great House still stands as the centre piece of the property, and a historic monument of architectural beauty, the remnants of the remaining out-buildings stand century on the periphery. Like shrinking ghosts of a thriving plantation economy long
gone, these remnants still stand tall as reminders of that bygone era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The British colonized Barbados in 1627 and by the early 1640s Clifton Hall plantation was established. Due to the status of its parade of owners, this space was well positioned as a large and prominent estate. Personalities like Humphrey Walrond, a political leader and member of the early Barbados House of Assembly of the 1630s, is believed to have created this plantation. Other people of note within that early society and who were associated with Clifton Hall were established elites like the Kendall, Rous, Dottin, Haynes and Pile families, who were described as owners or financiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I viewed the house, making my way through the upper level and towards the back of that area, I stumbled on a secret, hidden gem of colonial social practice. There, at
the back of the upper level of the house is a room, which within colonial social structure was known as \u2018The Poor Relations Room\u2019 – a relic of the Victorian age and society. The
use of this room was one of the hidden social practices which had been transferred from Britain and became rooted in the customs of the white elite class of British colonial Barbados. It is within the confines of the Poor Relations Room that relatives who were physically infirmed, socially unacceptable or mentally challenged were given refuge.
Under these circumstances it was imperative that a solution be found for such family members, as it was unthinkable for the \u2018poor relations\u2019 to be left exposed to public humiliation, which would reflect on the other members of the family. It was therefore socially prudent to navigate the associated stigma by sequestering the poor relation to that hidden room in the back of the house, away from the view of visitors and social gatherings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having prior knowledge about the existence of these rooms and the attached traditional reasoning, it was a great experience to be in this space – to see the layout and feel the energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I visited a Barbados National Trust Open House event at Clifton Hall plantation in the parish of St. John in Barbados. It was an extremely captivating experience, as we explored the colonial plantation space, located in the lush, green countryside of the island. Reaching back into the past and examining the landscape and buildings that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t