Ilaro Court (pronounced: il'larō kôrt) is the
official residence
An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...
of the
prime minister of Barbados
The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the president under the terms of the Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive authority, the president holds responsibility for co ...
. (
State House, Barbados
The State House (formerly Government House) is the official residence and office of the President of Barbados. It was built in 1702 during the colonial days and served as a Quaker Plantation, until it was purchased by the Imperial Government, to ...
is the official residence of the
President of Barbados
The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...
, a parliamentary-republic island country.)
History
Ilaro Court was designed and built in the early 1920s by Lady
Gilbert Carter,
[''The Journal of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society'' Volume LV December 2009 pages 1-31] an American artist whose husband
Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter was
Governor of Barbados
This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...
from 1904 to 1911. The name
Ilaro
Ilaro is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. Ilaro town houses about 57,850 people. Ilaro is the headquarters of the Yewa South Local government, now known as YEWALAND which replaced the Egbado division of the former Western State, and later became ...
was derived from a town in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
where the Governor was stationed when he was an officer.
This gracious mansion built of local
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
-
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
successfully combines
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and Caribbean architectural features into a distinctive and individualistic whole; it boasts the first swimming pool in Barbados — in which
Prince Edward the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
bathed when he visited Barbados. The large, park-like garden has a gazebo, fishpond and orchid house.
The property was purchased in the 1980s by the then
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. Led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party ...
government under
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
The
Rt Hon.
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
"Tom" Adams and was set to be a cultural centre; but the decision was made by the Cabinet to move the Prime Minister's official residence from Culloden Farm where it had been under
Errol Barrow
Errol Walton Barrow (21 January 1920 – 1 June 1987) was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat ve ...
and make Ilaro Court the official residence of the Prime Minister. The house was extensively refurbished throughout the early years of the 1980s and filled with antique furniture most of which had been made by the talented prisoners of the
Glendairy prisons. In 1984 Tom Adams and his family moved into the residence officially and made it their home; unfortunately however, Tom Adams died a year later of a heart attack in the study.
Thereafter, all persons who held the office of
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
in Barbados, stayed at the residence, with the exception of
Rt Hon.
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
Errol Barrow
Errol Walton Barrow (21 January 1920 – 1 June 1987) was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat ve ...
(later Rt. Excellent). Among the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
s who stayed at the residence were the
Rt. Hon. J.M.G.M. "Tom" Adams, the
Hon.
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...
Bernard St. John, the
Rt Hon
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA, PC (born 24 March 1937) is a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth prime minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994. Later Sir Lloyd served as Barbados' first resident ambassador in Beijing, China from 20 ...
later
Sir. Lloyd, the
Rt Hon.
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
Owen Arthur
Owen Seymour Arthur, PC (17 October 194927 July 2020) was a Barbadian politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Barbados from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. He is the longest-serving Barbadian prime minister to date. He also ...
, the
Hon.
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...
David Thompson, who, in May 2010 moved back to his St. Philip residence after he had been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer, subsequently dying on 23 October 2010.
The resident who preceded the current Prime Minister
Mia Mottley
Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
was the Rt. Hon.
Freundel Stuart
Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, SC (born 27 April 1951) is a Barbadian politician who served as seventh Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 Febr ...
(2010-2018).
The property is maintained by the
Barbados National Trust which ensures that all historic buildings are kept in a decent state of repair, preserving as much of
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
' history as possible. At various times of the year the National Trust organizes tours to the mansion so locals and visitors alike can see where the head of the government spends most of their time.
Ilaro Court is now used primarily for official state functions and other events like Carols by Candlelight. The current
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
, the
Honourable
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certai ...
Mia Mottley
Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
has not indicated yet whether she will reside at Ilaro Court.
ce
Ilaro Court was built on land of the house ''Glenelg'' that was owned by the solicitor
Charles W Fleming.
[
]
The gardens
The landscape architect Doris Turnbull designed and developed the extensive gardens in the mid-1920s. Born in 1898 on a tea plantation in Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, India; she was brought up in London; trained in a gardening school south of London; she taught in the ladies' gardening college La Corbière école horticole pour jeunes filles on Lake Neuchatel
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
in Switzerland; trained in Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
' Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture
The Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture is the shorthand name for a school that was founded in Groton, Massachusetts in 1901 for women to be trained in landscape architecture and horticulture. Under its original name of Lowthorpe School ...
, the worldwide-first-ladies' landscape-architecture college; and worked in Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
government gardens where she met her Scottish plant-pathologist husband-to-be Lawrence Ogilvie
Lawrence Ogilvie (5 July 1898 – 16 April 1980) was a Scottish plant pathologist.
From 1923, in his first job and aged only 25, when agriculture was Bermuda's major industry, Ogilvie identified the virus that had devastated the islands' high-v ...
also working in Bermuda in the 1920s.
Image:Ilaro_Court_-_site_of_new_garden_1925.jpg, Doris Turnbull exploring the challenge of the site for the ''New garden'' 1925
Image:Ilaro_Court_new_garden_1925.jpg, The ''New garden'' 1925
Image:Ilaro_Court_-_Burmese_Garden_1925.jpg, The new Burmese garden 1925
See also
* State House, the official residence of the president of Barbados
The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...
*Prime Minister of Barbados
The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the president under the terms of the Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive authority, the president holds responsibility for co ...
.
References
External links
Ilaro Court
The National Conservation Commission of Barbados
Prime Minister Thompson with the US Secretary of Defense 2010
{{Official Government residences in North America and the Caribbean
Official residences in Barbados
Prime ministerial residences
Government buildings in Barbados
Architecture in Barbados
Houses in Barbados