Sam Lord or Samuel Hall Lord and his castle, Sam Lord's Castle

Handsome building, a 2005-06 photo by Cathie

This famous or infamous Buccaneer, was born in Barbados in the late 1700s and died at age 66 in England during one of his trips to that country.  He lived in Long Bay, St. Philip.

Sam Lord along with his brother owned the Long Bay and Pool plantations, along with slaves which they had inherited from their mother Bathsheba, who in turn had inherited them from their father John, sometime in the early 1800s.

Photo & information, from BMHS

There was an old mansion on the Long Bay property, however it was replaced in the 1800s by a new Georgian mansion, named Sam Lord's Castle, which is now a crumbled ruin, sitting on a 72-acre plot.

The Barbados hurricane of 1831 partially destroyed the castle and it took three years to rebuild it.

Sam had children with one of his slaves.  His wealth is said to have come from him plundering ships - the old story goes that he hung lanterns at the shoreline near Sam Lord's Castle causing passing ships to try to dock there, but running aground instead, he would then loot the ships of its cargo.  Another theory is that the ships naturally ran aground and Sam would purchase their goods at auction houses.

Sam Lord's Castle became a luxury hotel, however due to large debts, the property has changed hands several times over the years.

In 2006, an auction was held to sell many of the elaborate furnishings in the castle and then renovations would begin to transform it into a hotel again.

There have been videos produced about Sam Lord's Castle as well as poetry and a folk song.

The Barbados NationNews as well as Barbados Free Press, have been keeping us uptodate about Sam Lord's Castle.

As of 2009, the Sam Lord's Castle continues to crumble!

Update:  The castle burned to the ground in 2010.