Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Cultural history museum in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The Barbados Museum & Historical Society is housed in the former Military Prison at Saint Ann's historic Garrison in Bridgetown. Its public collections hold more than 500,000 artifacts, among them antique maps of the island and paintings. The institution was established in 1933.
The Barbados Museum & Historical Society began in 1933 as a historical society founded by Eustace Maxwell Shilstone, set up in the old Military Prison at Saint Ann's Garrison. Its mandate was to study and permanently record the island's history, its families, leading public figures and old buildings. Sir John Saint served as president from 1946 to 1959, and in 1993 the society acquired the Newton Slave Burial Ground in Christ Church.
The museum displays how Bajadian society developed through crafts, everyday objects, and personal documents spanning generations. You see here how people lived and maintained their identity across time.
The museum is located in central Bridgetown and is easy to reach by car or on foot. Visitors should come during daytime hours since opening times vary by day of the week, and comfortable clothing is recommended because there are many gallery spaces to walk through.
The museum holds over 500,000 artifacts, among them antique maps of Barbados and paintings. In 1993 the society also acquired the Newton Slave Burial Ground in Christ Church, a site tied to the island's plantation past.
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