1.
History
of
Golden
Grove
A
Sense
of
Place
2014

2.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
GOLDEN
GROVE
AND
ITS
LOCATION
THROUGH
THE
AGES
Barbados
is
a
cluster
of
coral
rocks
set
on
the
far
east
of
the
Caribbean,
bordered
by
the
vast
Atlantic
Ocean.
From
Golden
Grove
you
can
glimpse
the
lighthouse
marking
the
easterly
point
of
Barbados.
The
story
of
who
came
here,
and
why,
is
told
in
the
following
pages,
unfolding
the
“history
within
a
house”.
We
start
with
2
Geology
and
the
supporting
rock
itself-­‐
the
“Golden
Grove
Terrace”-­‐
which
has
been
scientifically
dated.
Human
“Pre-­‐history”
follows.
The
earliest
known
inhabitants
of
Barbados-­‐
Amerindians-­‐
have
been
discovered
to
have
lived
in
the
vicinity
of
Golden
Grove-­‐
attracted
by
the
water
of
the
Three
Houses
spring
and
stream.
Recorded
history
follows
British
colonial
settlement.
The
story
of
the
area
around
Golden
Grove
unfolds
very
quickly
after
first
arrivals
on
the
island.
Glimpses
of
plantation
life,
slavery
and
insurrection
emerge
from
historical
fragments
relating
directly
to
Golden
Grove
and
its
neighbours,
including
a
pivotal
moment
for
the
island
of
the
slave
insurrection
in
1816.
Our
focus
then
turns
to
the
life
of
a
noted
Barbadian,
Florence
Daysh,
who
was
born
at
Golden
Grove
in
1908.
Her
life
provides
a
fascinating
catalogue
of
a
country
in
transition.
The
Great
House
today
is
structurally
very
similar
to
when
she
was
born
so
that
a
visit
to
Golden
Grove
echoes
the
gentility
of
that
era.
Despite
the
end
of
sugar
in
the
plantation
lands
of
Golden
Grove,
the
character
of
the
house
and
gardens
remain,
albeit
in
a
new
way,
supplemented
by
a
sense
of
beauty
from
a
collection
of
contemporary
Barbadian
artwork.
We
hope
the
pages
below
encourage
you
to
visit
Golden
Grove,
less
than
a
century
after
Florence
left
(her
father
purchased
neighbouring
Thicketts
plantation
in
1918).

3.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Geology
Time
has
a
geologic
scale.
The“Quaternary”
period
began
c.
2.5
million
years
ago
and
developed
into
a
warmer
or
“interglacial”
period
called
the
Holocene
epoch
around
11,000
years
ago,
enabling
the
rise
of
human
civilisation.
The
epoch
prior
to
this
is
known
as
the
“Pleistocene”.
The
rocky
area
around
Golden
Grove
was
created
in
the
Middle
Pleistocene.
A
team
of
American
scientists
analysed
coral
deposits
from
the
“Golden
Grove
Terrace”
in
1990,
dating
them
as
230,000-­‐216,000
years
old
(shown
on
the
map
below).
3

4.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Geology
(continued)
The
coral
analysed
at
Golden
Grove
was
Acropora
Palmata
(or
“Elkhorn”
–first
below,
once
prolific
but
now
on
the
Endangered
Species
list)
and
Montastrea
Cavernosa
(or
“Great
Star”-­‐
next
below,
the
predominant
coral
at
40
to
100
feet
below
sea
level).
Coral
terraces
in
Barbados
like
Golden
Grove
are
in
geological
terms
very
“young”
but
have
been
formed
adjacent
to
rock
that
is
much
older-­‐
in
the
Scotland
district
being
perhaps
over
40
4
million
years
old.

5.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Water
and
Food
:
The
Arrival
of
Humans
Human
settlement
has
two
requirements:
potable
water
and
access
to
food.
The
area
around
Golden
Grove
provides
both:
its
current
northern
boundary
is
Three
Houses
stream,
fed
from
a
spring
nearby.
A
little
further
north-­‐east
is
a
bay
where
fishermen
still
set
out
to
sea.
Pre-­‐colonial
human
activity
in
this
locality
is
perhaps
no
surprise.
However
archaeological
research
of
Amerindian
settlements
in
Barbados
found
few
remains
inland
so
that
the
site
by
the
spring
of
Three
Houses
is
important.
The
first
exhibition
by
the
Barbados
Museum
at
Golden
Grove
describes
the
many
aspects
of
Amerindian
life
and
culture,
which
will
be
supplemented
by
specific
findings
and
exhibits
from
the
Three
Houses
excavations.
Why
the
Amerindians
left
all
of
their
settlements
in
Barbados
remains
a
mystery-­‐
but
the
knowledge
of
Barbados
from
the
Lokono
in
Guyana
remained.
There
can
be
no
doubt
that
they
knew
how
to
navigate
the
difficult
waters
of
the
eastern
shores
of
Barbados
and
indeed
the
ancient
name
for
Barbados,
Ichirouganaim,
may
have
meant
“island
with
white
teeth”
or
reefs.
Unlike
other
Caribbean
islands
Amerindian
problems
were
not
created
by
the
first
colonial
explorers
(the
Spanish
and
Portuguese).
The
Portuguese
map
of
Vaz
Dourado
in
1575
names
“Barbado”
as
the
most
easterly
island
of
the
Caribbean
but
under
the
Treaty
of
Tordesillas
in
1494
the
colonial
world
had
been
divided
between
Portugal
and
Spain,
with
Barbados
falling
on
the
Spanish
side
of
the
demarcation.
So
whilst
the
Portuguese
ships
may
have
landed
for
water,
they
did
not
colonise
Barbados-­‐
it
could
not
legally
become
Portuguese.
Spain
it
appears
didn’t
think
Barbados
was
worth
the
bother,
although
Christopher
Columbus
must
have
sailed
close
by
in
his
4th
(and
last)
voyage
to
the
Caribbean
in
1502.
5

6.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
English
Settlement
The
arrival
of
the
British
in
1625
and
first
colonial
settlement
of
Barbados
in
1627
is
well
recorded.
The
island
was
deserted
and
this
may
have
been
an
attraction.
Initial
settlement
took
place
along
the
west
coast,
guided
by
the
sea
captains
who
first
landed
at
Holetown
under
the
business
interests
of
a
London
merchant,
William
Courteen
and
near
Bridgetown,
fostered
by
the
Earl
of
Carlisle.
In
1627
King
Charles
1st
granted
the
Earl
of
Carlisle
an
assignment
of
many
Caribbean
islands,
including
Barbados,
ousting
the
interests
of
Courteen.
Captain
Henry
Hawley
was
sent
back
to
Barbados
by
the
Earl
of
Carlisle
to
protect
his
new
fiefdom
and
in
1630
Hawley
was
made
Governor
of
Barbados.
Hawley
did
his
best
to
monetise
this
opportunity
by
selling
land
to
the
new
English
colonists,
arriving
to
make
their
fortune.
And
it
is
not
long
before
the
story
turns
to
the
land
near
Golden
Grove
and
its
access
to
water.
Records
(The
Hughes/
Queree
Plantation
Files)
in
the
Barbados
Archives
show
how
a
Captain
Francis
Skeete
purchased
4500
acres
of
land
in
eastern
Barbados
from
Governor
Hawley
in
1638-­‐
a
very
large
estate;
how
the
legitimacy
of
this
transaction
(amongst
others)
by
Governor
Hawley
was
questioned
in
a
commission
of
1640;
and
how
the
parcel
of
land
that
is
assumed
to
now
include
Three
Houses,
Thicketts,
Wiltshire
and
Golden
Grove
plantations
(
still
substantial
at
1,160
acres)was
found
to
be
legitimate.
Whilst
Skeete
continued
in
occupation,
he
mortgaged
500
acres
to
his
brother-­‐in-­‐law
William
Hilliard
(son
of
a
Merchant
in
Southampton)
in
1643
shortly
before
his
death.
It
appears
that
William
Hilliard
had
already
owned
land
in
Barbados
prior
to
the
arrival
of
his
sister
and
brother-­‐in-­‐law
and
likely
bankrolled
them.
Indeed
after
Skeete’s
death
Hilliard
funded
his
sister’s
new
husband
and
her
two
sons
to
take
over
Three
Houses.
Captain
Skeete,
though,
had
the
honour
of
the
local
bay
being
named
after
him
(Skeetes
Bay
is
well
worth
a
visit
with
this
in
mind).
What
these
records
show
is
that
Golden
Grove
was
part
of
land
“colonised”
a
mere
decade
after
the
first
settlement
of
Barbados.
6

7.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
English
Settlement
(continued)
These
very
early
plantations
grew
a
variety
of
crops,
highlighted
in
a
lease
of
Three
Houses
which
has
an
inventory
attached
in
1658
(shown
below).
The
plantation
is
described
as
including
sugar
canes,
indigo
and
cotton.
The
inventory
includes
5
men
&
5
women
negroes,
5
cowes
(sic)
and
1
bull.
The
condescension
to
humanity
is
that
each
negro
is
named
(but
not
the
cattle!).
At
the
end
of
the
lease
the
Negroes
and
Cattle
had
to
be
delivered
back
to
the
Lessor-­‐
or
an
equivalent
number
given
any
fatalities.
“Inventory”
at
Three
Houses
7

8.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Sugar
The
Hughes/
Queree
plantation
files
also
show
when
Golden
Grove
became
an
independent
plantation.
“Ince”
is
shown
as
owner
from
1674-­‐
another
Captain-­‐
and
his
relations
owned
a
house
and
a
plantation
here
of
136
acres
till
1721.
By
1674
sugar
had
become
the
overwhelming
cash
crop
throughout
Barbados
with
plantations
of
a
similar
size
to
Golden
Grove
(or
even
larger).
The
triangular
trade-­‐
guns
and
trinkets
to
Africa,
slaves
to
Barbados,
sugar
to
England-­‐
had
taken
over
with
hugely
profitable
results
for
many
landowners
who
consolidated
their
interests
in
larger
plantations.
The
“ten-­‐acre”
or
smaller
settlers
largely
disappeared.
Daily
existence
for
the
planters
must
have
included
a
comfortable
“family
life”.
Mary
Ince
was
recorded
as
marrying
Robert
Hackett
in
1702
and
they
must
have
occupied
Golden
Grove
as
the
plantation
became
known
as
“Hacketts”.
The
“widow
Hackett”
sold
the
plantation
to
Henry
Evans
who
in
his
will
of
1743
passed
“Hacketts”
to
his
nephew
Henry
Walker.
Despite
Walker’s
marriage
to
Ann
Clarke
(and
a
mention
in
the
marriage
settlement
of
1777)
the
house
was
sold
to
Elliot
Grasset
in
1785,
a
man
who
seems
unrelated.
The
first
100
years
of
Golden
Grove
as
a
separate
entity
was
probably
trying
at
times
for
the
owners,
with
recorded
hurricanes,
other
climate
challenges
and
sugar
price
fluctuations
resulting
in
financial
pressures,
but
overall
it
must
have
been
a
success-­‐
for
the
owner
and
his
family.
For
the
slaves
it
was
a
different-­‐
and
largely
unrecorded
story.
A
slave
song
from
the
1770s,
annotated
by
William
Sharp,
the
abolitionist,
from
conversations
with
a
secretary
to
the
Governor
of
Barbados,
includes
an
“optimistic”
line
“Massa
buy
me,
he
no
kill
me”.
Slaves
had
no
rights
and
were
totally
subject
to
the
whims
of
their
masters.
Another
line
is
also
chilling:
“For
I
live
with
a
bad
man,
for
I
would
go
to
the
riverside
regular”.
The
“riverside”
(where
slaves
were
sold
like
cattle)
demonstrates
the
huge
uncertainty
of
slave
life.
An
annotation
By
William
Sharp
is
shown
overleaf.
8

9.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Sugar
(continued)
The
Grasset
Family
&
Golden
Grove
Elliot
Grasset,
whose
wealth
from
Golden
Grove
allowed
sending
his
son
to
Eton,
was
apparently
borne
illegitimate
but
from
a
family
that
had
owned
Grazettes
plantation
in
St
Michael
.
“Grazette
represented
a
new
elite
group,
earning
a
place
by
dint
of
knowledge
and
hard
work,
rather
than
by
inheritance
over
several
generations
(Bobby
Morris:
The
1816
Uprising-­‐
A
Hell-­‐broth”).
Hacketts
got
a
new
name
:
“Golden
Grove”-­‐
a
popular
name
it
seems
in
the
Caribbean
where
most
islands
have
a
plantation
with
this
title.
No
doubt
it
was
golden,
for
a
time,
for
the
Grazette
family-­‐
both
Elliot
Grazette
and
his
son
William
were
members
of
the
Barbados
House
of
Parliament
for
St
Philip,
at
a
time
when
such
honours
were
reserved
for
the
wealthy.
9

10.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Insurrection
The
Grassets
also
endured
the
largest
uprising
Barbados
has
ever
had.
The
slave
revolt
of
1816
is
popularly
known
as
the
“Bussa
revolt”
after
one
of
its
leaders,
who
was
a
“senior”
slave
at
Baileys,
which
borders
Golden
Grove.
The
insurgents
were
slaves
and
some
coloured
free
men,
with
limited
weapons
and
a
desire
to
overthrow
a
tyrannical
regime.
Bobby
Morris’
article
shows
how
life
at
Baileys
(and
Wiltshires,
both
next
to
Golden
Grove)
had
become
particularly
gruesome
for
its
slaves
under
a
notorious
manager.
A
Private
Letter
from
a
soldier
stationed
at
St
Ann’s
Fort
(fragments
shown
below)
testifies
how
about
400
insurgents
assembled
at
Baileys,
to
be
faced
by
about
150
soldiers,
on
Tuesday
the
16th.
10

11.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
“
with
an
extraordinary
emblematic
flag.
11
They
were
pursued
to
the
house
of
Mr.
Grasset,
which
they
occupied...”

12.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
An
Extraordinary
Emblematic
Flag
What
really
drove
the
insurgents?
The
Private
Letter
mentions
an
“extraordinary
emblematic
flag”
which
they
carried.
An
article
by
Karl
Watson
provides
some
clues
as
indeed
does
the
12
attached
copy
of
the
flag
taken
from
the
British
Library
including
the
words
“Royal
Endeavour”.
Did
the
insurgents
believe
they
had
a
legitimate
claim
authorised
by
the
British
(and
that
the
local
planters
were
simply
denying
a
freedom
granted
by
the
British
government)?
If
so
the
words
in
the
letter
quoting
the
events
at
Golden
Grove
are
poignant:
“The
insurgents
did
not
think
that
our
(Bourbon
Blacks)
men
would
fight
against
black
men,
but
thank
God
they
were
deceived”.

13.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
“the
conduct
of
the
Bourbon
Blacks..
has
been
the
admiration
of
everybody”
It
must
have
been
a
double
disappointment
for
the
rebels-­‐
British
soldiers
attacked
the
insurgents
and
included
within
the
ranks
of
the
British
were
local
black
soldiers.
Some
accounts
describe
the
insurgents
as
being
initially
confused
as
they
thought
the
black
soldiers
were
on
their
side!
We
will
not
truly
know
the
motivations
of
the
losers-­‐
the
only
records
are
from
the
winners,
including
a
letter
from
the
head
of
the
army,
Colonel
Codd.
He
describes
a
driving
force
for
the
rebellion
being
the
way
the
Registry
Bill
was
misquoted
by
mischievous
parties
to
indicate
emancipation
was
desired
by
the
British
parliament;
how
the
slaves
had
not
been
mistreated,
but
rather
believed
the
island
belonged
to
them
rather
than
white
men
(whom
they
would
destroy,
reserving
the
females!).
In
fact
hardly
any
whites
were
killed,
although
there
was
much
damage
to
property.
And
so
whilst
the
first
reason
rings
true,
the
second
half
does
not
accord
with
ample
opportunity
for
murder.
Many
insurgents
were
rounded
up,
to
be
tried
later,
and
hanged
or
imprisoned.
The
rebellion
was
defeated.
But
its
effect
echoed
into
the
history
of
Barbados
and
was
undoubtedly
a
part
of
the
ending
of
slavery.
13

14.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Change
and
Chancery
In
the
end,
it
was
indeed
the
British
government
which
outlawed
slavery
in
the
colonies
(but
only
after
intense
domestic
religious
and
moral
pressure).
The
planters-­‐
but
not
the
slaves-­‐
received
compensation.
In
the
1830s
an
intermediate
stage
of
“apprenticeship”
briefly
kept
former
slaves
locked
to
the
plantation-­‐
and
after
a
devastating
hurricane
of
1831
the
rebuilding
no
doubt
benefitted
from
such
free
labour.
It
is
thought
the
hurricane
affected
Golden
Grove,
large
parts
of
which
today
must
date
from
that
time.
The
Grazette
family
owned
Golden
Grove
until
1854,
selling
for
£10,000.
Perhaps
their
luck
had
run
out,
as
13
years
later
the
property
was
sold
again
for
£16,500
(with
the
same
287
acres).
The
second
half
of
the
19th
century
saw
two
registrations
in
the
debtor-­‐ridden
Chancery
Court
for
Golden
Grove,
indicating
problems
for
the
estate
as
ownership
again
changed
hands.
Plantations
were
often
heavily
mortgaged
and
the
fall
in
sugar
prices
in
this
period
took
a
heavy
toll.
Three
Houses
also
had
two
Chancery
Court
references
in
these
days
of
cholera
and
hardship.
(below:
a
Photo
of
Golden
Grove
of
uncertain
date)
14

15.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Resilience
and
Reunion
An
interesting
chapter
for
Golden
Grove
began
in
1905
with
its
purchase
by
Howard
Smith
and
Mr
S.
Browne,
the
latter
appearing
the
principal
financier.
Howard
Smith
was
a
white
planter
who,
against
his
class
and
colour,
married
a
coloured
woman,
Eveline.
It
is
said
that
many
ostracised
him
but
this
did
not
seem
to
hinder
his
progress
in
a
period
when
sugar
prices
took
a
turn
for
the
better
and
the
resilience
of
planters
shone
through.
Howard
and
Eveline
had
a
daughter,
Florence,
who
was
born
at
Golden
Grove
in
1908.
She
was
the
most
influential
woman
politician
of
her
day
in
Barbados.
Florence
grew
up
later
at
Thicketts,
purchased
by
her
father
in
1918.
At
times
he
managed
Golden
Grove,
Thicketts,
Three
Houses
and
Fortescue,
in
a
syndicate
with
Brown
that
also
owned
Three
Houses
factory
which
then
had
a
loading
facility
to
the
functional
Bridgetown:
Bathsheba
railway.
The
size
of
these
various
estates
was
similar
to
the
original
“valid”
interests
purchased
by
Captain
Skeete
and
is
described
in
the
sale
to
a
syndicate
in
an
agricultural
paper
of
1920
as
“the
biggest
plantation
sale
yet”.
Florence
spent
a
life
of
voluntary
service
dedicated
to
the
women
and
children
of
Barbados,
with
numerous
achievements
that
were
rewarded
with
an
OBE
in
1957.
She
married
a
New
Zealand
naval
captain,
Commander
Daysh
in
1947
after
war
duties
with
the
Red
Cross.
Her
life
was
part
of
the
“upper
class”
of
plantation
owners
but
she
was
incredibly
popular.
15

16.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
Florence
Daysh
at
Election
Time
In
1958
Florence
was
elected
to
the
West
Indies
Federal
Parliament,
as
the
only
woman
from
Barbados,
defeating
Errol
Barrow.
Previously
she
had
been
elected
to
the
Vestry
of
St
Philip
and
the
Legislative
Council,
in
both
cases
as
only
the
second
woman
in
a
long
parliamentary
history.
In
her
maiden
speech
to
Parliament
she
declared:
“I
am
a
woman
of
colour,
and
proud
of
it.”
Florence
was
described
an
“indomitable”.
Her
mother
Eveline
is
commemorated
in
the
Eveline
Smith
wing
of
the
St
Philip
District
Hospital,
again
another
charitable
venture.
Care
for
the
community
was
perhaps
the
greatest
legacy
of
a
family
whose
success
could
not
be
questioned.
16

17.
HISTORY
OF
GOLDEN
GROVE
The
End
of
Plantation
Life
(at
Golden
Grove)
Messrs
Brown
and
the
syndicate
funding
Three
Houses
et
al
must
have
considered
Golden
Grove
surplus
to
their
requirements
as
it
was
sold
in
1921
for
£16,000.
The
last
chapter
in
Golden
Grove’s
history
as
a
plantation
began.
Herbert
and
then
his
son
Geoffrey
Manning
were
the
last
of
the
planters
here,
still
remembered
by
older
residents
with
some
affection.
They
ran
a
plantation
when
St
Philip
was
still
full
of
sugar
cane
for
about
50
years,
including
the
hardship
period
of
the
1930s.
Geoffrey
Manning
was
known
as
a
keen
sportsman-­‐
he
was
one
of
the
founders
of
the
Barbados
Rally
Club
in
1957.
By
1970
the
economic
viability
of
sugar
at
Golden
Grove
was
finally
in
doubt.
This
was
also
the
year
that
the
sugar
factory
at
Three
Houses
closed.
The
land
at
Golden
Grove
was
apportioned
to
create
smaller
farming
interests
and
the
house
became
a
home
for
another
keen
sportsman
and
polo
player;
later
it
passed
to
a
newer
resident
to
the
island,
a
successful
entrepreneur
in
the
up-­‐coming
dominant
industry
of
tourism
and
hospitality.
And
it
is
in
this
world
that
Golden
Grove
fits
today.
Of
course
its
history
remains-­‐
and
itself
can
be
a
new
lease
of
life
to
attract
visitors
and
so
successfully
maintain
the
house
and
gardens.
As
part
of
this,
the
Barbados
Museum
will
be
showing
a
series
of
exhibitions
at
Golden
Grove
with
reference
to
the
particular
history
here.
The
first
showing
commences,
naturally,
with
an
emphasis
on
the
original
settlers
who
inhabited
close
by,
the
“Amerindians”.
17