Those people who first came to settle in the Cayman Islands in the early 1700's came from widely different backgrounds. Their notions of house building would have been different, too. Settlers from England and Wales would have had memories of timber-framed, brick or stone houses. Seamen who stayed were more familiar with carpentry than stonework. Families arriving from Jamaica would have known how to keep houses cool, while their slaves, some only recently brought from Africa, would have known of mud-walled homes with grass roofs.

In each of these backgrounds were skills which would put locally available materials to good use. As time passed, and the populations on the islands grew, so a style of building developed which, although having much in common with its Caribbean neighbours, was uniquely Caymanian.

The earliest dwellings would have been constructed simply and quickly, using the timber and palm leaves that were to hand. The framework for the house would have been built with straight round trunks of young trees - Mastic, Mahogany or perhaps Silver Thatch Palm - with lathes of thin, pliable wood tied to them. Palm leaves made an excellent rainproof surface for both walls and roofs, so the structure would be both dry and well ventilated. It must be realised that most of the work and activity of the day took place outside. The houses were often used simply for sleeping, with hammocks strung up in shipboard fashion, so they did not need to be spacious.

Thatchwork buildings were not very durable, however. Built on the ground, with sand floors, they were vulnerable to storm damage and invasion by termites and mosquitoes. The thatch would need replacing every five to eight years. So more permanent buildings were constructed, using techniques already known to the settlers. But older Caymanians can still remember such houses being lived in by poorer members of the community right up to the start of this century. More prosperous families also continued to use the same building methods to construct their kitchen (cook-rum or buttery) separately at the back of the house. This kept the heat of the cooking away from the main house and reduced the risk of starting a fire!

Ironwood had been discovered in Cayman; a particularly hard wood unique to these islands, resistant to water rot and termites and not inclined to warp. It was ideal for the framework of houses. Vertical posts were sunk into the ground, with horizontal beams running across top to bottom, held in place using dovetail joints and wooden dowel joints (iron nails rusted too quickly in the tropical climate). The spaces between the posts were filled with woven panels known as "wattles" and covered with a plaster-like substance called "daub". This building method would have been familiar to most of the settlers. Houses built in this way are sometimes called "wall" houses.

It was discovered that storm surges did less damage if there was space underneath the house for the water to run through. So it became common practice to raise the floor of the building by about 18 inches. Roofs had to deal with heavy rainfall, and so all four sides were sloped away from a short, narrow central ridge, with an overhang to help keep the walls dry. This "hipped" roof would be thatched with leaves from the Silver Thatch Palm or, later, covered with Cedar wood shingles, which lasted longer. Windows were simply square or rectangular holes in the wall, with outside wooden shutters suspended from the top or the side, which were closed at night or when it rained. Floorboards, though, were hard to cut, and some homes used planks that had been salvaged from shipwrecks.

Increased trade with Florida in the USA soon meant that machine cut wood was readily available. By the end of the nineteenth century, timber houses had become widespread. These were often modeled on the styles seamen had noticed during their travels to the southern states of the USA, using materials ordered from a builder's catalogue. People were now spending more time indoors, so more houses began to be subdivided into rooms. A central front door would lead to the hall or main living room, with bedrooms on either side. The dining room was often at the back of the house, and the kitchen and bathroom facilities were still usually in separate buildings.

Glazed windows became common, as did zinc roofs. Although not as cool as the thatch or shingle, they had one major advantage - they kept the mosquitoes out! Verandahs were a popular feature of these houses: they kept the walls of the house cool and provided an airy place to sit. Caymanians soon developed intricate patterns of fretwork to decorate their homes and the outside of the houses was brightened with coloured paint.

Occasionally a family would become wealthy enough to extend their home and the first two-storey structures began to appear. The ground floor could well be an older, wattle and daub house, while the upper storey would be timber with an outside staircase leading to the front door. The upper storey then became the living area, while the ground floor was used for sleeping and, possibly, a kitchen and bathroom. Such houses were known as "manor" or "upstairs" houses.

As the influence of building styles from the US increased, so the bungalow became a popular style, made from timber or concrete blocks. The short side of the building faced the road, with a gabled porch often supported by large wooden pillars. These buildings had zinc roofs, but the pitch on them was much shallower. The floor area in a bungalow was much larger than a house, giving greater flexibility in the arrangement of rooms.

Today, houses in Cayman come in a wide variety of styles, some still influenced by the origins of their inhabitants. Most are now built of concrete, with tiled roofs, but some elements of traditional architecture are gradually making a comeback. A few modern buildings incorporate particular features into their design. It is still good to sit out on a verandah and be able to admire the attractive and often intricate fretwork.

Last Updated: 27 Jun 2012