{{Short description|Historical plantation house in Saint George, Barbados}} [[File:FRANCIA GREAT HOUSE BARBADOS.jpg|thumb|300px|Francia Great House]] '''Francia Great House''' is a historical plantation [[great house]] in [[Saint George, Barbados]]. It is on a wooded hillside near [[Gun Hill Signal Station]].<ref name="Pariser">{{cite book|author=Harry S. Pariser|title=Explore Barbados|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zDM8K7LFqIoC&pg=PT188|year=2000|publisher=Harry S. Pariser|isbn=978-1-893643-51-2|page=PT188}}</ref>
==History== It was completed at the end of the 19th century<ref name="(Firm)Agate2002">{{cite book|author1=Rough Guides (Firm)|author2=Nicky Agate|title=The Caribbean|url=https://archive.org/details/caribbean00agat|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-85828-895-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/caribbean00agat/page/659 659]}}</ref> or in the early 20th century<ref name="Pariser" /><ref name="Whiting">{{cite book|author=Keith Whiting|title=Barbados|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdrVAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT151|date=December 1, 2012|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc|isbn=978-1-58843-652-8|page=PT151}}</ref>{{efn|It is also said to have been built at the turn of the 20th century,<ref name="Vaitilingam" /> in 1910,<ref>{{cite book|title=Architectural Digest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuVUAAAAMAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Conde Nast Publications|page=92}}</ref> 1912,<ref name="Ali1996">{{cite book|author=Arif Ali|title=Barbados: Just Beyond Your Imagination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0k8sAQAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Hansib|isbn=978-1-870518-54-3|page=160}}</ref> or about 1913.<ref name="VB">{{Cite web |url=https://www.visitbarbados.org/2018-open-house-season-francia-plantation |title=Francia Plantation |website=Visit Barbados |access-date=June 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://barbadosnationaltrust.org/project/francia/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109145314/http://barbadosnationaltrust.org/project/francia/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 9, 2018 |title=Francia |website=Barbados National Trust |access-date=June 3, 2018}}</ref>}} by a Frenchman, René Mourraille, who had lived in Brazil. He met and married a Barbadian and settled in Barbados. It was one of the last [[List of plantations in Barbados|plantations built in Barbados]].<ref name="Pariser" /> The plantation grew and exported yams, [[eddoe]]s, and sweet potatoes. Sugar was not grown due to the reduction of the price of sugar internationally at the time the house was built.<ref name="Vaitilingam">{{cite book|author=Adam Vaitilingam|title=Barbados Directions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AlN4SHnrbYC&pg=PA104|date=August 2004|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-320-7|page=104}}</ref> From the time the house was constructed, it was owned by descendants of Mourraille.<ref name="Whiting" /> By 2007, it had become a private school,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nick Hanna|author2=Emma Stanford|title=The Caribbean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZe33sTKGOoC&pg=PT391|year=2007|publisher=National Geographic Society|isbn=978-1-4262-0141-7|page=PT391}}</ref> the Providence Elementary School.<ref name="VB" /><!--- VB says it no longer accepts visitors (if someone tries to return that sentence.) ----><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.psbarbados.com/history-elementary-school/|title=History - Elementary School|website=Providence School Barbados|accessdate=June 3, 2018 }}</ref>
==Architecture and landscaping== [[File:DINING ROOM OF FRANCIA GREAT HOUSE - BARBADOS.jpg|thumb|Dining room]] The building reflects the owner's interest in French architecture in the triple-arched entrance, enclosed upper balcony, and "sweeping front staircase".<ref name="Vaitilingam" /> The house combines Barbadian coral stone craftsmanship, [[Demerara window]]s,{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} and Brazilian wood [[panelling]].<ref name="Pariser" /> It has a collection of antique mahogany furniture and West Indian maps dating back to the early 16th century.<ref name="Pariser" /><ref name="Vaitilingam" /> It is set in terraced English-style gardens, with [[bougainvillea]], [[hibiscus]], and [[frangipani]] plants and a large [[Mammea americana|mammee apple]] tree.<ref name="Vaitilingam" /> It also has orchards.<ref name="Whiting" /> The [[Barbados National Trust]] designated it a house of architectural interest.<ref>{{cite book|author=Keith Whiting|title=Barbados - Bridgetown & the South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdPeAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT62|date=December 1, 2012|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc|isbn=978-1-58843-964-2|page=62}}</ref>
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SNjx9mvOYg Tour of Francia Great House], YouTube
{{Coord|13|8|39.49|N|59|33|55.77|W|display=title}}
[[Category:Houses in Barbados]] [[Category:Saint George, Barbados]]
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