Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Bridgetown (must see)

The Barbados Museum & Historical Society occupies the buildings of the former British Military Prison, constructed in 1818. The museum itself has been here since 1933.

Once inside, begin with the Jubilee Gallery, providing an overview of Barbados’ history. Follow the displays chronologically, starting with the island’s Indigenous inhabitants and continuing through European settlement, plantation society, slavery, Emancipation, and the years leading toward Independence.

From here, continue into the African Gallery, which focuses on African heritage and the experiences of people of African descent in Barbados.

Next, follow the museum signs to the Military Gallery. This section contains uniforms, weapons, medals, photographs, and objects associated with the West India Regiment and Barbados’ long military history.

Continue into the Warmington Gallery, which is easy to recognize by its reconstructed historic interiors. Walk through displays representing four rooms of a wealthy plantation household: a living room, dining room, nursery, and master bedroom. Among the highlights is a large West Indian mahogany four-poster bed dating from the 1830s.

Next, make your way to the Cunard Gallery, where paintings, prints, and other artworks provide another view of Barbados and the wider Caribbean.

For a change of pace, head on to the Harewood Gallery, devoted to the island’s natural environment. Look for colourful displays and dioramas illustrating Barbados’ coral reefs, marine life, mangroves, seagrasses, birds, and sea turtles.

If you're visiting with children, look for the Jairus Brewster Children’s Gallery, a more interactive space designed for younger visitors. One of the more family-oriented sections is Yesterday’s Children.

Also within the museum complex is the Shilstone Memorial Library. This is primarily a research facility rather than a conventional museum gallery, with historical maps, manuscripts, books, and genealogical material relating to Barbados and the wider Caribbean.

The museum is also responsible for the Newton Slave Burial Ground, but don't look for it within the Garrison complex. This is a separate historical site, located several kilometers to the east, near Newton in Christ Church. Acquired by the museum in 1993, the burial ground preserves the remains of enslaved people who lived and worked on the former Newton plantation.

Together with the surrounding Garrison, the museum offers a useful starting point for understanding both Barbados’ colonial history and the broader story of the island and its people.