Why is it important to maintain an Inventory of Heritage Places?

Over the years Barbados has lost a large number of historic buildings, objects and structures due to development, decay, man-made and natural disasters and a lack of awareness of the importance of historic places to national identity and development. Our communities contain a wealth of heritage assets that are yet to explored and documented. Heritage serves as a valuable resource to build national identity and pride, for community engagement and to contribute to national development. This register serves as a means to build awareness and to document and preserve places of historic, socio-cultural, religious significance for future generations. Communities will be encouraged to nominate places of interest to the Register. Each site listed on the Register will be enhanced with oral histories, photos, video, maps and pictures, interviews and rich stories from communities and historians.

What qualifies a place, object, structure, or building to be listed on the National Register?

The site, building, structure or object must be associated with a specific period in Barbados’ history and or associated with an important person or historical, social or cultural event that helped to shape Barbados.

What is the process for nominating sites, buildings, structures, and objects to the Register?

Members of the public can download and complete a Nomination Form or call into the Ministry of Creative Economy, Culture and Sports to nominate a site, building, structure or object that they consider to be on historical, religious, cultural or social significance to a community and to Barbados.

Once a nomination is received, the Technical Review Committee will make a scheduled visit the location and conduct an assessment. The nomination is then reviewed by the Technical Review Committee at their regularly scheduled meetings, where a decision will be taken against the stated criteria.

Staff of the Ministry of Creative Economy, Culture and Sports and The Technical Review Committee are available to assist with the initial assessments of eligibility of sites to the register and to provide guidance in the completion of nominations.

Private property owners have the right to consent to, or object to, the listing of their property.

How will the public be notified of a successful nomination?

Property owners and nomination authors will be notified of The Technical Review Committee’s decision. Owners of properties listed on The Register will receive a certificate of listing. Formal public notice of the sites, buildings, structures and objects will be published in the local newspaper annually and posted to social media.

Who manages the Register?

The National Register is managed by the Ministry of Creative Economy, Culture and Sports, which is responsible for the preservation of Barbados’ tangible and intangible heritage. A Technical Review Committee has been established to oversee the nomination process. This Committee comprises Lands and Surveys Department, Data Processing Department, National Cultural Foundation, The Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Town and Country Development Planning Officer, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., The Barbados Archives and Barbados National Trust and private citizens with a love of heritage. Local historians act as resource personnel.

Who are the beneficiaries?

It will be a valuable resource for heritage professionals, researchers, communities, planners, developers, Barbadians living in the Diaspora, Students, Heritage Professionals, Educators, Tourism Professionals, Community groups, Historians, Government departments; NGOs, Special Interest groups and policy makers.