List of castles and fortifications in South Africa

Castle of Good Hope, the first permanent building in South Africa.

This is a list of former and current castles and fortifications in South Africa and contains historical fortifications, military instillations, mock castles and Manor Houses, that may be referred to as "castles".

A fortification or Fort[1] is easily identifiable as a structure built purely for defensive purposes, however a castle is slightly more subjective. The historical term castle refers to a Fortification that was also a seat of power and governance over the local area, the modern term might refer to a Manor House, a Châteaux or a Mansion and is more a matter of semantics.[2] The castles will be discussed by province.

Eastern Cape

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Fort Armstrong Kat River 1836
Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort 1839
Cock's Castle Port Alfred About 1840
Fort Cox Middledrift 1835
Fort Frederick Gqeberha 1799
Fort Glamorgan East London 1848
Fort Hare Alice 1835
Fort Murray King Williams Town 1835
Fort Peddie Peddie 1835
Fort Selwyn Grahamstown 1836
Soffiantini's Castle East London
Fort White King Williams Town 1835

Free State

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Fort Bloemfontein Bloemfontein 1848
Camelot Castle Clarens
Clarens Castle Clarens
Destiny Castle Fouriesburg
Deneysville Castle Deneysville
Fort Drury Bloemfontein 1846
Harrismith Blockhouse Harrismith
Jacobsdal Blockhouse Jacobsdal
Naval Hill Bloemfontein
Riverford Blockhouse Bloemfontein
Old Presidency Bloemfontein 1860
Oliewen House Bloemfontein 1941
Castle of Philippolis Philippolis 1800s

Gauteng

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Arkleton House Pretoria
Barton Keep Pretoria 1886
Bronberg Castle Pretoria
Brooks House Brooklyn 1925
Castle da Angelo Western Pretoria
Castle Inn Resort Cullinan
Erasmus Castle Pretoria 1892
Foxwood House Johannesburg
Gothic Castle Pretoria East
Government House Pretoria 1906
Johannesburg Fort Johannesburg 1899
Kensington Castle Kensington 1911
Fort Klapperkop Pretoria 1898
Castle Kyalami Johannesburg 1992
Mahlamba Ndlopfu Pretoria 1940
Melrose House Pretoria 1886
The Moors Castle Krugersdorp
Ou Raadsaal Pretoria 1891
Palace of Justice Pretoria 1897
Parktown Manions Johannesburg After 1894
Parkview Castle Johannesburg 1907
Royal Jontica Pretoria
Fort Schanskop Pretoria 1897
Smuts House Irene 1909
Sorex Estate Centurion
Stone Castle Johannesburg
The Cullinan Johannesburg 1910
Three Castles Building Johannesburg 1899 00000-Castle_Cigarette_Factory-Johannesburg-s
Villa D'Este Saxonwold
Westfort Pretoria 1898
Witkop Blockhouse Johannesburg 1900
Fort Wonderboompoort Pretoria 1897 Fort_Wonderboompoort
Yadah Castle Centurion
Yukon House Johannesburg 1911
Zwartkoppies Hall Pretoria 1886

Kwazulu-Natal

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Fort Amiel Newcastle 1896
Coedmore Castle Durban 1875
Castle Hotel Howick Before 1900
Botha House Pennington
Fort Durnford Estcourt 1875
King's House Durban 1904
Fort Mistake Dundee
Fort Nongqayi Eshowe 1883
Fort Nottingham Nottingham 1856
Stratford Castle Durban
Stonehaven Castle Hillcrest before 1923

Limpopo

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Fort Botha Louis Trichardt 19th Century
Fort Edward Makhado 19th Century
Castle de Wildt Modimolle
Fort Hendrina Louis Trichardt Made in 1888
Fort Louis Campbell Polokwane 19th Century
Mapungubwe Musina 10th Century Mapungubwe,_Limpopo,_South_Africa_(20356165510)
Schoemansdal Fort Schoemandal

Mpumalanga

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Fort Burger Burgersfort 1876
Flycatcher Castle Graskop
Fort Merensky Middelburg 1865
Voortrekker Fort Ohrigstad 1847
Fort Weeber Sekhukhune

North West

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Boekenhoutfontein Rustenburg 1860s
Camelotte Castle Hartebeestpoort
Excalibur Castle Rustenburg
Fountain Villa Klerksdorp
Potchefstroom Fort Potchefstroom
Rectors Residence Potchefstroom 19th century 9_2_256_0008-Old_Fort_and_Cemetery-Potchefstroom-s
Voortrekker Fort Potchefstroom
Cannon Kopje Fort Mafikeng

Northern Cape

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Carnarvon Blockhouse Carnarvon
Daniëlskuil Blockhouse Daniëlskuil
Die Kasteel Hartswater
Hospital Hill Blockhouse Noupoort
Leeu-Gamka Blockhouse Leeu-Gamka
Letterklip Namaqualand 1901
McGregor House Kimberley
Prieska Kopje Blockhouse Prieska

Western Cape

[edit]
Castle or Fortification Location Date Image
Bygracealone Manor George
Cape Town City Hall Cape Town 1905
Casa Labia Muizenberg 1930
Castle of Good Hoope Cape Town 1670s
Castle on the Cliff Plettenberg Bay
Castle on the Hill Bainskloof Pass About 1941
Celtic Castle Gordon's Bay
Colona Castle Muizenberg
Devon Castle Stellenbosch
Dunn's Castle Piketberg 1890s
East Fort Hout Bay 1782
Elsenburg House Stellenbosch 1754
English Fort Montagu 1875-1877
Fort de Goede Hoop Cape Town 1652
Redoubt Duijnhoop Cape Town 1654
George Victorian Hotel George 1815 George_-_Western_Cape_06_-_Museum
Greylands Ostrich Palace Oudtshoorn
Gottland Palace Oudtshoorn
Grosvenor House Stellenbosch 1803
Hawthorndon House Wynberg 1683
Herstein Castle Stellenbosch 1980s
Het Vlock Kasteel Riebeek-Kasteel
Lanserac House Stellenbosch 1830
Le Roux Townhouse Oudtshoorn 1909
Lichtenstein Castle Hout Bay 1986-1998
Lord Milner Hotel Matjiesfontein 1884
Noetzie Castles Knysna After 1930
Pinehurst Mansion Oudtshoorn 1911
Robben Island Forts Robben Island 1940s
Rus in Urbe Mansion Oudtshoorn 1902
Sandenburg[3] Cape Town 1640s
Fort Simon Stellenbosch 1997
Somerset Hospital Cape Town 1864 Somerset_Hospital_Cape_Town
Stone Castle Saldanha
Knysna Fort Knysna 1899
Veretti Castle Mossel Bay 2004
Vergelegen Estate Somerset West 1700
Villa Anna Katarina Riebeek-Kasteel
Welgeluk Ostrich Palace Oudtshoorn 1910
West Fort Hout Bay

Townhouses in Cape Town

[edit]
Building Location Date Image
Bertram House Gardens 1854
Genadendal Residence Rondebosch 18th Century
Groot Constantia Constantia 17th Century
Groote Schuur Rondebosch 18th Century
Jan de Waal House City Bowl
Koopmans-de Wet House City Bowl 1701
Leeuwenhof Gardens 1788
Leinster Hall Gardens
Martin Melck House City Bowl 1781
Ravenswood House City Bowl
Rust en Vreugd City Bowl 18th Century
Saasveld House Gardens
Tuynhuys City Bowl 1682
Welgemeend Gardens

Blockhouses of the Second Anglo-Boer War

[edit]

[4]

King's Blockhouse in Cape Town
  • Aliwal North Blockhouses (2)
  • Broederstroom Blockhouse
  • Burgersdorp Blockhouse
  • Dewetsville Blockhouse
  • Fort Harlech, Krugersdorp
  • Hekpoort Blockhouse
  • Hopetown Blockhouse
  • Kaalfontein/Zuurfontein Blockhouse
  • Modder River Blockhouse
  • Noupoort Blockhouse
  • Orange River Station
  • Pampoennek Blockhouse
  • Prieska Blockhouse
  • Riversford Blockhouse
  • The Reservoir Blockhouse
  • The Stormberg Junction South Blockhouse
  • Timeball Hill Blockhouse
  • The Warrenton Railway Bridge Blockhouse
  • Warmbaths Blockhouse
  • Witkop Blockhouse

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Definition of fort | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Definition of castle | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  3. ^ Wêreldspektrum (in Afrikaans) (10th ed.). Ensiklopedie Afrikana. 1984. p. 64.
  4. ^ "South African Military History Society - Journal- BRITAin's LAST CASTLES Masonry Blockhouses of the South African War, 1899-1902".