House called Barrabe-Roubaud

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Barrabé-Roubaud House is a Creole villa built in the middle of the 19th century, located in Tampon, on the island of La Réunion. Located below the Hubert-Delisle Road (the 600 Line), it follows a typical plan of the houses of the time: a central varangue (closed later) framed by two cabinets in the pavilion, with bays in half moon. The front façade is boarded, while the sides are shingled. In the back, a second wave completes the whole. Built of wood, its sheet metal roof dates back to the 1940s.

The property originally belonged to the Roussel family, which built it in the neighbourhood of "La Pointe" or "Petit Tampon", a place popular in the 19th century for the secondary residences of the wealthy families of Saint-Pierre. The house changed hands several times (Cillot families, Bertaut, Deltel, Barrabe, then Roubaud) and was part of a larger estate, fragmented from the 1950s. The surrounding plots were gradually loted, reducing the original right of way.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 2024, the protection covers facades, roofs, terraced garden and fenced wall. These elements reflect the adaptation of local elites to the climatic and social constraints of the time, mixing Creole influence and holiday needs. The house thus bears witness to the architectural and urban evolution of La Réunion in the 19th century, marked by the rise of secondary residences for bourgeois families on the coast.

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