National Monuments of Sierra Leone

The National Monuments of Sierra Leone, in West Africa, are proclaimed in accordance with the Monuments and Relics Ordinance of 1947.[1] Eighteen National Monuments have been proclaimed, although two have since been demolished.[2] Sierra Leone accepted the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 2005, but is yet to nominate a site for inscription.[3][4] A three-year research project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council in the late noughties investigated the "object diaspora" of movable Sierra Leonean cultural properties in the context of European museums and has led to the creation of a digital resource relating to the country's cultural heritage.[5][6][7]

The two National Monuments that are no longer traceable were both in Freetown. They were a fireplace removed from a now demolished building and some military butts (shooting ranges).

Site Location Founded Proclaimed Location Description
Bunce Island Sierra Leone River 17th century 1948 8°34′9.86″N 13°2′24.84″W / 8.5694056°N 13.0402333°W / 8.5694056; -13.0402333 Site of an 18th-century British slave castle on Bunce Island.
Heddle's Farm, Freetown Freetown 1820 1948 8°28′27.11″N 13°13′3.17″W / 8.4741972°N 13.2175472°W / 8.4741972; -13.2175472 Prominent residence, now in ruins, that was owned by several notable colonial families.
De Ruyter Stone Freetown 1664 1948 8°29′18.11″N 13°14′16.8″W / 8.4883639°N 13.238000°W / 8.4883639; -13.238000 An inscribed rock left by Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, Freetown's oldest monument.
Bastions of Fort Thornton, Freetown Freetown 1805 1949 8°29′3.12″N 13°14′0.78″W / 8.4842000°N 13.2335500°W / 8.4842000; -13.2335500 Fortifications on Tower Hill
Earthworks and Live Stockade at Masakpaidu, Kono Kono District c.1800 1949 8°50′49.48″N 11°1′9.43″W / 8.8470778°N 11.0192861°W / 8.8470778; -11.0192861 An abandoned fortified village that was founded before the arrival of Europeans.
Gateway to the King’s Yard, Freetown Freetown 1817 1949 8°29′18.85″N 13°14′18.73″W / 8.4885694°N 13.2385361°W / 8.4885694; -13.2385361 Gateway through which ex-slaves entered the settlement of Freetown.
Ruins of John Newton’s House and slave barracoons, Plantain Island Moyamba District 1725 1949 7°54′37.43″N 12°59′25.21″W / 7.9103972°N 12.9903361°W / 7.9103972; -12.9903361Site of the slaver settlement founded by John Newton.
Cleveland Tombstone Moyamba District 1791 1950 Near Shenge An 18th century European gravestone.
Old Wharf Steps and Guard House, Freetown Freetown 1818/9 1953 8°29′20.13″N 13°14′15.80″W / 8.4889250°N 13.2377222°W / 8.4889250; -13.2377222 Early 19th century stairs leading down to Government wharf.
Old city boundary guns, Freetown Freetown c.1800 1953 1# 8°28′59.90″N 13°12′46.07″W / 8.4833056°N 13.2127972°W / 8.4833056; -13.2127972
2# No longer visisble
3# 8°28′22.95″N 13°14′11.97″W / 8.4730417°N 13.2366583°W / 8.4730417; -13.2366583		 Three 18th Century cannons that probably came from a condemned slave ship
Old Fourah Bay College building, Freetown Freetown 1845-8 1955 8°28′37.9″N 13°13′16.3″W / 8.477194°N 13.221194°W / 8.477194; -13.221194 The 19th century four-storey building at Fourah Bay College developed into the first University College in Africa.
St John’s Maroon Church, Freetown Freetown 1820 1956 8°29′8.8″N 13°14′11.9″W / 8.485778°N 13.236639°W / 8.485778; -13.236639 It is built from the ship timbers that brought the first Jamaican Maroons to Freetown.
St Charles’ Church and King’s Yard wall Regen Village 1816 1959 8°28′45.56″N 13°13′33.56″W / 8.4793222°N 13.2259889°W / 8.4793222; -13.2259889The oldest stone church in Sierra Leone and the third oldest in Africa.
Firing point and guns near Old Wharf, Dublin, Banana Island Dublin, Banana Islands 18th & 19th century 1956 8°8′11.07″N 13°11′32.66″W / 8.1364083°N 13.1924056°W / 8.1364083; -13.1924056 Early British fortifications against pirates that were established 80 years before Freetown.
Martello Tower, Tower Hill, Freetown Freetown 1805 1961 8°29′15.51″N 13°14′7.70″W / 8.4876417°N 13.2354722°W / 8.4876417; -13.2354722 Built to counter any threat from Napoleon.
Grave of Captain Lendy, Waiima Kono District 1893 1965 8°9′7.97″N 10°59′47.46″W / 8.1522139°N 10.9965167°W / 8.1522139; -10.9965167 Burial site of a British officer who was accidentally killed during a conflict with the Wassoulou Empire.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Monuments and Relics Ordinance (1947)" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "National Monuments". SierraLeoneHeritage.org. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "States Parties – Sierra Leone". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "Tentative Lists – Sierra Leone". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Exhibition: Reanimating Cultural Heritage in Sierra Leone". Arts and Humanities Research Council. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Basu, Paul (2011). "Object Diasporas, Resourcing Communities: Sierra Leonean Collections in the Global Museumscape" (PDF). Museum Anthropology (American Anthropological Association) 34 (1): 28–42.
  7. ↑ "SierraLeoneHeritage.org – About". SierraLeoneHeritage.org. Retrieved 5 May 2012.

External links

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