Guyanese Online

The house with 99 windows

Guyana Times Sunday Magazine – June 14, 2013

Though crumbling, the house of 99 windows stood as a symbol of status more than 100 years ago. In the 1800s and early 1900s, to construct a house with 100 windows and furnish it with a more than 14-foot dining table were ways of showing to society one’s high status.

This was true of the Hicken family of Berbice. They built a massive house with 100 windows and furnished it with a dining table stretching over 14 feet in length.

David Fraser, 76, and heir of the house, said in an interview that he had read a bit on the building from some aged records that are totally destroyed now. He was unable to learn all the details about the history of the house, but remembered some details. Continue reading →