The Garrison Historic Area is a 17-hectare complex of British colonial military buildings south of the city centre, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Historic Bridgetown site. The red-brick barrack buildings, guardhouses, and fortifications were built between the 1780s and 1850s to protect what was then the most important British naval base in the Caribbean.
The buildings are in varying states of preservation: some house the Barbados Museum, the Barbados Community College, and government offices; others are being restored. The central parade ground — now a racecourse — is ringed by the main barrack buildings, and a walk around its perimeter gives a clear sense of the scale of the British military presence here. A cannon collection of more than 30 cast-iron guns, some dating from the 17th century, is displayed along the main path. Horse racing takes place here on Saturdays and public holidays.