St Nicholas Abbey is located in
Saint Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupat ...
,
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) ...
, and is a
plantation house
A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...
, museum and
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
distillery.
Colonel
Benjamin Berringer built the house in 1658.
This house is one of only three genuine
Jacobean mansions in the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
.
It's similar to the English
Jacobean-era manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
s of the first half of the seventeenth century, the period between the
Tudor and
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
styles, beginning in the reign of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
.
History
St Nicholas Abbey has no church connection, it has always been a
sugarcane plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
house. The exact origin of its name is not known but rumour has it that it was named after George Nicholas, husband to Berringer's granddaughter, Susanna.
Berringer was killed in a duel with his neighbor,
Sir John Yeamans, who then married Berringer's widow and claimed the abbey as his property.
In 1669, the Colonel's children took the matter to court and were awarded ownership of the property. Sir John and his wife then moved to British America, where they helped found
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. The house was later acquired by the eminent baronet, planter and legislator,
Sir John Gay Alleyne
Sir John Gay Alleyne, 1st Baronet (28 April 1724 – 1801) Barbadian politician and the first of the Alleyne baronets which still exists today.
Background
Alleyne descended from the first settlers on Barbados and was born at St James as the s ...
, through his marriage to
Christian Dottin. He lived there from 1746 until his death in 1801. Alleyne family traditions hold that Sir John planted the impressive mahogany avenue leading to
Cherry Tree Hill.
The house passed by marriage to Charles Cave in 1834.
The abbey was no longer a functioning plantation after 1947.
Sugar has been grown on the plantation since 1640 and there is still the evidence of the
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
and sugar making edifices. Sugar was processed on the property until 1947, the cane is now trucked eight miles to the Portvale Sugar Factory for processing.
His great-great-grandson Lt. Col. Stephen Cave
OBE lived there from 1978 until his death in November 2003.
Since 2006, the abbey is owned by local Barbadian architect, Larry Warren.
Warren built the
St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway
St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway (SNAHR) is a long heritage railway, heritage narrow gauge railway with a gauge, in the parish of Saint Peter, Barbados, Saint Peter on the Eastern Caribbean island of Barbados.
History
The railway was conc ...
on his estate, which was completed by the end of 2018.
Museum
St Nicholas Abbey is currently a well-preserved museum, successfully recreating 18th-century plantation life complete with;
Wedgwood pottery,
Chippendale furniture
Thomas Chippendale (1718–1779) was a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled ''The Gentleman and Cab ...
,
curvilinear
Dutch gable
A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a ...
s with tall
finials of carved coral stone and corner
chimneys. The entrance
portico,
Chinese Chippendale staircase and cedar panelling are later additions to the home. The fireplaces and
walled Medieval herb garden were almost certainly included in the original plans brought from England, and copied faithfully.
There is a rare 1930s film of life on a sugar plantation that is available for viewing in the museum. Listed by the
Barbados Tourism Authority
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). ...
as one of the "Seven Wonders of Barbados,"
the property has attracted several thousand visitors a year. Amongst the mahogany trees are
box
A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
,
cabbage palm,
silk cotton, and
avocado
The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...
trees.
Literature
* ''St. Nicholas Abbey. Tour guide. 350 years of heritage preserved for future generations.'',
6 pages without numbers preface from Larry Warren, St. Peter, Barbados,
ithout date, 2018?
References
External links
Official websiteSpaces in between : archaeological investigations at St. Nicholas Abbey sugar plantation
{{Coord, 13.2775386, -59.5920475, display=title, type:landmark
Jacobean architecture
Architecture in Barbados
Houses in Barbados
History of the Colony of Barbados
Saint Peter, Barbados
Agriculture in Barbados
Sugar plantations in Barbados