Originally owned by the First Earl of Carlisle, "The Proprietor of the Colony of Barbados" and built in 1645, Bagatelle Great House is the third oldest Great House in Barbados. The Second Earl of Carlisle, with the understanding that half the profits from the colony be paid toward his late fathers' debts, gave the property and a promise of a commission as "Governor-in-Chief of Barbados" and "Lieutenant-General of the Caribee Islands", to Francis Lord Willoughby of Parham. This was subsequent to his estates in England being confiscated by Parliamentary Agency.

Willoughby arrived in Barbados in May 1650 and took over Governorship from Captain Philip Bell who had administered the Islands' affairs for over ten years. Willoughby moved into the property naming the house "Parham Park House", after his estate in England and it remained under the control of the Willoughby family until 1679 when the Earl of Bath purchased it.

The ownership of the property changed several times over the years, not always being used as a residential property until, as it is rumoured, Mr Cooper Boxhill won the property in a card game in 1877. The previous owner was heard to say, "it was a Bagatelle I lost", Bagatelle being the French for trifle. When Mr Boxhill sold the property to a Mr A I Birmingham, in July of 1878, the name was recorded, for the first time, as "Bagatelle".

Bagatelle fell in to several different pairs of hands thereafter, most recently as a Restaurant and it is worth noting that, during the seventies it was the Islands premier eating establishment, enjoying the kind of acclaim worldwide that is now the enjoyed by its close neighbour, Sandy Lane, whose estate borders the North West quarter of the property.

Pauls Enterprises Ltd purchased Bagatelle a number of years ago and has subsequently bought the three acres to the North East of the property, making the total acreage on which it stands to just over five.

During the construction and clearing phases of the huge operation to both renovate the existing building, listed with the Barbados National Trust and build the new section that today includes "The Lord Willoughby's Tavern", no expense was spared in order to re-create the splendour that is a Barbados Great House. Bagatelle is one of the finest examples of the Barbadian vernacular house style, with obvious Palladian influence. It has a classic, elegant double staircase to a front porch with two columns and adecorated pediment. A flattened arch leads to deep cellars, which served as the 'yam stores'. Utilizing the unique character of this property the company has created four differing dining operations to offer a wide variety of clients.