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)
![](../I/m/Castle_of_Good_Hope_-_model_of_the_Amsterdam_Battery.jpg)
Model of Amsterdam Battery
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)
![](../I/m/Table_Mountain-Kings_Blockhouse-001.jpg)
King's Blockhouse on Devil's Peak
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
![](../I/m/Robben_Island_Battery_1.jpg)
De Waal Battery, Robben Island
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
gollark: You can always use a fake name which isn't *obviously* fake.
gollark: As far as I'm aware the basic principle is just that a force is exerted on current-carrying wires in magnetic fields because the fields interact or something.
gollark: For the first one, the half life is 30 years and the time is 90 years. So it's 3 half lives (90/30) so its mass halves 3 times, so the mass at the end is 1\*(1/2)\*(1/2)\*(1/2)=1\*(1/2)³=0.125.
gollark: It's how long it takes for half of the atoms in a thing of radioactive isotope to decay.
gollark: Just work out how many half lives the given time is, then divide the starting mass by 2 to the power of however many half lives it is.
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 article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.