Francia Great House, Colonial plantation house in Saint George, Barbados.

Francia Great House is a plantation great house on a wooded hillside near Gun Hill Signal Station in Saint George. Its triple-arched entrance, enclosed upper balcony and sweeping front staircase reflect French architecture, while the building combines Barbadian coral stone, Demerara windows and Brazilian wood panelling. It stands in terraced English-style gardens with bougainvillea, hibiscus, frangipani and a large mammee apple tree.

Completed at the end of the 19th or in the early 20th century by René Mourraille, a Frenchman who had lived in Brazil, met and married a Barbadian, and settled on the island. It was one of the last plantations built in Barbados. Because sugar prices had fallen internationally, the estate grew and exported yams, eddoes and sweet potatoes instead of cane. Descendants of Mourraille owned it from its construction until it became the Providence Elementary School by 2007.

The house takes its name from René Mourraille's French origins, and its design follows his taste for French architecture: a triple-arched entrance, an enclosed upper balcony and a sweeping front staircase. Inside, antique mahogany furniture and West Indian maps from the early 16th century are kept, and the terraced English-style gardens hold bougainvillea, hibiscus, frangipani and a large mammee apple tree.

The property now functions as an elementary school, so visiting requires awareness of school operating hours and educational activities taking place. It is best to check ahead about the right time to visit to see the historical spaces without disrupting the current use of the buildings.

Inside are collections of antique mahogany furniture and West Indian maps from the early 16th century that show the historical connections of the region. These items reveal how the household was linked through trade and networks to other parts of the Caribbean.