Sunbury Plantation Great House was built in 1660 and is now an almost 370-year-old Georgian-style Plantation Great House. Sunbury is open to the public for house tours and features a unique bar and gift shop. It is a must-visit for anyone touring the island and is a popular stop for guided tours. Interactive rum tours and tastings are also available to visitors with advance bookings.
Remarkably, the house has changed ownership only nine times during this 370-year period. Information boards display the names and years of all these families since the property was built. Sunbury Great House is the last remaining plantation great house that is fully open to the public, with all three floors accessible for viewing and exploration. Guests can freely wander through the vast rooms and view all displays up close.
Sunbury also boasts the most authentic and extensive display of antique furniture in the entire Caribbean. Rare artifacts include two chairs from the coronation of Queen Victoria (1838) and the historic 270-year-old mahogany dining table, which seats 30 guests and is fully laid out in all its splendor. Over the years, royalty, presidents, prime ministers, and celebrities have dined at this table.
A wide range of antique four-poster beds, dressers, and double-seater couches are housed on the property. The main reception hall is filled with antiques and priceless ornaments from past centuries. A particularly prized piece is the stunning 1925 painting by famous 19th-century painter Philip de László of Her Majesty The Queen Mother. This painting hung in Princess Margaret’s house in Mustique for almost 50 years. In the cellar, visitors can find a collection of rare carriages from the horse-drawn era, along with unique memorabilia from past centuries.
The Ince family purchased the property in 2017 and carried out an extensive refurbishment of the entire interior during the summer of 2018. This was a herculean task undertaken to restore the historic property to a high standard. A careful selection and re-display of choice pieces of antique art, original Barbados maps, unusual prints, and numerous treasured Barbadian historical artifacts are now proudly on display.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, officially re-opened Sunbury Plantation House on December 14, 2018, following the significant refurbishment. Key tourism and Barbadian stakeholders attended the event. Additionally, the gardens were redesigned in 2018, and the entire six-acre property was re-landscaped. The entrance was relaid with 8,000 historic ‘factory bricks’ originally brought to the island from England as ballast in the hulls of merchant ships. The famous 300-year-old mahogany grove was also cleared in 2018, making this historic garden display accessible for visitors to explore.
Continuous improvements have been made to the extensive property each year. The most recent additions include two exterior Barbadian-style chattel houses, completed in the summer of 2024.
A visit to Sunbury Plantation Great House is a must for anyone visiting Barbados who wants to experience a genuine, historic, and truly stunning example of a Caribbean sugar plantation-era great house.