St. Nicholas Abbey: Jacobean Great House of St. Peter Parish, Barbados

The year 1658 emerges as the construction date for the Jacobean great house built by Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Berringer (died January 1661). Carved woodwork, casement windows, chimney stacks, curved gables, and pitched roof furnish evidence of the Berringer Plantation’s Jacobean architecture -- in honor of King James (June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625), I of England and Ireland, VI of Scotland -- and sugar cane successes. Socio-economic resilience and solid architecture indeed guide the seventeenth-century landholding and landmark through tragedies and triumphs under five sets of owners and three changes in name:

• Yeamans Plantation, after Margaret Foster Berringer’s second marriage to John Yeamans (died 1674);
• Nicholas Plantation, through Benjamin’s granddaughter Susannah Berringer’s and grandson-in-law George Nicholas’ owner-occupancy. 

Barbados has powerful competition in producing an introduced cash crop, sugar cane, whose status straddles luxury item and mass consumption statuses. Vulnerability to regional and world events and markets is one reason why St. Nicholas Abbey lacks original owner-occupancy in the twenty-first century, what with:

• Joseph Dottin’s purchase, as dowry for daughter Christian’s (died 1782) marriage to Sir John Gay Alleyne (died 1801);
• Edward Cumberbatch’s and Lawrence Trent Cumberbatch’s purchase for £20,500 in back taxes through Bridgetown’s Chancery Court, as inheritance for sister Sarah and brother-in-law Charles Cave (died 1887);
• Larry and Anna Warren’s purchase in 2006 from Charles’ and Sarah’s great-great-great-grandnephew James Joseph Petri.

Each owner nevertheless keeps the property authentic and intact while individualizing changes. 

Family and local histories leave credit with:

• Christian and John for Chippendale staircase, mahogany tree-lined Cherry Tree Hill, sash windows, triple-arcaded portico;
• Sarah for memorializing her Bristol hometown in St. Nicholas Parish and marriage in Bath Abbey;
• Larry and Anna for antiques, digs, events, restorations.

All contributions make sustainable on-site:

• avocado, breadfruit, citrus, mango, sabal-palm, sandbox, silk-cotton groves;
• biscuits, cakes, cheeses, chutneys, jams, jellies, marmalades, rums, sauces, sugars;
• boiling-house, bottling-house, distillery, mills, stables;
• candlesticks, Coalport china, grandfather clock, Minton bone-china, sailor’s valentines, Sheraton sideboard, Wedgewood pottery;
• herb (aloe-vera, bay-leaf, chives, garlic, lemongrass, peppers), formal (hibiscus, orchid, rose) gardens;
• 1930s-made home movies.

Cockatoos, dinners, films, green monkeys, lunches, and tours nurture unforgettable immersions into Barbados’ past and present. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

St. Nicholas Abbey grounds: repurposing an old sugar cane evaporating pan as large plant pot for garden décor
Saint Peter Parish, northeastern Barbados; Saturday, January 17, 2004, 05:00:25: bixentro, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/bixentro/4632102888/

St. Nicholas Abbey: the old Boiling House complex comprising steam mill, syrup plant, and distillery
Peering above complex (right) is abandoned windmill, providing power for crushing cane before conversion ca. 1890 to steam power, with towering steam chimney (left).
Saint Peter Parish, northeastern Barbados: Charlie Dave, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliedave/12483145585/

St Nicholas Abbey front elevation
Saint Peter Parish, northeastern Barbados: Pontificalibus, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StNicholasAbbey.jpg

view of mid-17th century windmill that powered cane crushing at St. Nicholas Abbey until replacement by steam mill, ca. 1890
In addition to steam mill, plantation's Boiling House complex includes syrup plant as well as distillery, which was established by Sir John Gay Alleyne (1724-1801) after acquiring St. Nicholas via marriage in 1746.
Saint Peter Parish, northeastern Barbados: Charlie Dave, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliedave/12483242333/

Included in tourists' complimentary feedback about St. Nicholas Abbey tours is appreciation of the Warren family's orange tabby, whose friendliness is encountered inside as well as on the Terrace Café.
Saint Peter Parish, northeastern Barbados; Friday, February 12, 2010, 09:12:14: rufus (rufusowliebat), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/rufusowliebat/4361103655/

southeastern view of Barbados' Atlantic coast from Cherry Tree Hill: spectacular scenery at elevation of 850 feet (259 meters), with avenue of mahogany trees (Swietenia mahagoni) attributed to St. Nicholas owner Sir John Gay Alleyne (1724-1801)
As part of St. Nicholas Abbey, Cherry Tree Hill borders both Saint Peter Parish and its southeastern neighbor, Saint Andrew Parish.
Saint Andrew Parish, northeastern Barbados; Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 15:47:30: lns1122, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/minijoegreen/8739373161/

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