Fortifications of the Cape Peninsula

Dozens of fortifications were built in Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula between the 1650s and the 1940s. Most have gone, but a few still stand.

List of fortifications

Entries in bold indicate that the building still stands, either intact or in ruins.

Dutch colonial period (1652–1795)

17th century

• Fort de Goede Hoop (1652–1674) – Table Bay (present Grand Parade)
• Tranenborg (1652–?) – Table Bay (Salt River mouth)
• Duynhoop (1654–1672) – Table Bay (Salt River mouth)
• af:Coornhoop (1657–1662) – present-day Mowbray
• Kyckuyt (1659–1670s) – present-day Paarden Eiland
• Keert de Koe (1659–1670s) – present-day Maitland
• Houdt den Bul (1659–1663) – present-day Bishopscourt
• Ruyterwacht (1659–1660s) – present-day Rondebosch
• Santhoop (1661–?) – Table Bay (near Salt River mouth)
• Castle of Good Hope (born 1674) – Table Bay

18th century

• Chavonnes Battery (1726–1860) – Table Bay
• Fort De Knokke (1744–1926) – Table Bay
• Sea Lines (1744–1827) – Table Bay
• Imhoff Battery (1744–1896) – Table Bay (next to Castle)
• Muizenberg Fort (1740s–1827) – near present Natale Labia Art Museum
• French Lines (or Military Lines) (1781–1827) – present-day Trafalgar Park (Woodstock)
• Gordon Battery (c1781–?) – slopes of Devil's Peak
• Kloof Nek Battery (c1781–1827) – Kloof Nek (between Table Mountain and Lion's Head)
• Camps Bay Battery – present-day Camps Bay High School
• Conway Redoubt (c1781–?) – Constantia Nek
• Gilquin Battery (later West Fort) (1781–1827 – Hout Bay
• Zoutman Battery (later East Fort) (1781–1827 – Hout Bay
• Amsterdam Battery (1787–1900s) – Table Bay (near present V&A Waterfront entrance)
• Coehoorn Battery (1780s–?) – slopes of Devil's Peak
• Rogge Bay Battery (1780s–1827) – present St John's Arcade, Riebeeck Street
• Boetselaar Battery (1793–) – Simon's Town
• Zoutman Battery (later Lower North Battery) (1793–) – Simon's Town
• Klein Gibraltar (1794–1827) – Hout Bay
• Kyk in de Pot (1795–) – Table Bay (rebuilt as Fort Wynyard 1862)

British colonial period (1795–1910)

18th century

• Craig's Tower (1795–?) – near Salt River mouth
• York Blockhouse (later Queen's Blockhouse) (1795–1827) – Devil's Peak
• King's Blockhouse (1795–1827) – Devil's Peak
• Prince of Wales's Blockhouse (1795–1827) – Devil's Peak
• Martello Tower (born 1796) – Simon's Town

19th century

• Fort Wynyard (born 1862) – Table Bay
• Craig's Battery (1880s–?) – near Salt River mouth (replaced Craig's Tower)
• Green Point Battery (1880s–1907) – Mouille Point beachfront
• Three Anchor Bay Battery (1880s–1920s) – Three Anchor Bay beachfront
• Cemetery Battery (later Queen's Battery) (1889–1943) – Simon's Town
• Noah's Ark Battery (1890–1940s) – Simon's Town
• Sea Point Battery (1891–1928) – present Sea Point Junior School site
• Lion Battery (born 1891) – Signal Hill
• Middle North Battery (born 1892) – Simon's Town
• Upper North Battery (1895–?) – Simon's Town

20th century

• Scala Battery (1906–1947) – Simon's Town

Union/Republic of South Africa (1910–)

20th century

• King George V Battery (1914–1928) – Milnerton
• Duiker Battery (later Apostle Battery) (1940–) – Llandudno
• Cornelia Battery (1940–1944) – Robben Island (north)
• Robben Eiland Battery (later De Waal Battery) (1941–1944) – Robben Island (south)
• Docks Battery (later Duncan Battery) (1940–1946) – Table Bay

References

• Barker, B.J. (2003) The Castle of Good Hope from 1666.
• Emms, M. (1976) "Fortifications of the Cape of Good Hope" in Lantern (June 1976).
• Ras, A.C. (1959) Die Kasteel en ander Vroeë Kaapse vestingwerke 1652–1713.
• Rosenthal, E. (1966) Bastion of the South.
• Seemann, U.A. (1997) Fortifications of the Cape Peninsula 1647–1829.
• Sleigh, D. (1996) Forts of the Liesbeek Frontier.

See also

• Chavonnes Battery Museum
• Fort de Goede Hoop
• Fortress Study Group:  The Cape Town Guns
• Redout Duijnhoop
• List of Castles and Fortifications in South Africa

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fortifications of the Cape Peninsula.

This page was last edited on 18 February 2024, at 17:14