Domnik.net : Places : Dominica : Realms of Roseau : Bath Estate

14.5 Bath Estate

'Bath Estate is going to become a community that is taking care of itself' (Didier 1999).

Bath Estate is situated in the valley of Roseau River to the NE of the Botanical Gardens. It is surrounded by mountains (Fig. 68). Bath Estate was formerly an agricultural estate that produced limes--hence the name 'Limefields' which is sometimes used instead of 'Bath Estate'. As a matter of fact, in the 1910's Dominica was the world's largest producer of limes, and Bath Estate was the most important lime estate of the time (Honychurch 1995a: 155). On some maps (e.g. Dominica 1:50,000; Lesser Antilles 1:25,000) a name 'Lacoudrée' is added in brackets, after which the main road of Upper Bath Estate is called Lakoudwe Drive.

Upper Bath Estate was constructed in the early 1980s after the destruction caused by the Hurricane David in 1979. It was a housing scheme, and the people who live there are working middle class people. New housing scheme is still under construction at Lower Bath Estate. The houses are constructed in a uniform manner but, however, will be personalised when the inhabitants move in (see Fig. 19).

Unlike in other districts of Roseau, at Upper Bath Estate the feeder lanes are wider than the main road. The lanes are unpaved, and some of them have even a small green area inside them (see Fig. 56). These lanes are used for parking but children use them among other uses for playing cricket, for instance. At Lower Bath Estate the lanes are just like everywhere else: narrow and paved.

Commercial services are few. Only two small grocery stores serve the whole district. Additionally, there are several bars at various parts of the district and a pottery next to the bridge to Central Roseau. The Lands and Surveys Division of Dominica has its offices in Lower Bath Estate.

To the SE of Bath Estate there lies the residential area of Elmsall Estate. A bridge from Lower Bath Estate leads to this other estate. As an area, it is relatively similar to Bath Estate but not as strictly planned. Houses are also built less densely. Few block houses exist--as in Bath Estate, too: on the side of Roseau River next to the bridge that leads to central district.

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