A Chattel House is basically a wooden house that is built on cement blocks. The walls are made from planks of wood and the roof is made from corrugated iron.
Chattel House’s were originally built by the early plantation workers in Barbados and were designed to be transportable. They can quiet easily be taken apart and rebuilt at another location.
Even to this day you still see quiet a few Chattel Houses dotted all over Barbados. Nowadays many of them are built on permanent foundations and have been extended to meet the needs of a modern day family.
Further Reading:
1. A Blog All About Barbados, Is It Really Paradise!
2. Historic Chattel Houses of Barbados, A Very Real Part of Paradise