Chavonnes Battery
Encyclopedia
The Chavonnes battery was a fortification protecting Cape Town
, South Africa. Built in the early 18th century, it has served many purposes but is now a museum.
The battery was one of the Fortifications of the Cape Peninsula
linked to the Castle of Good Hope
. It was built in 1714–1725 by the Dutch East India Company
, and named after its originator, Maurits Pasque de Chavonnes, who was the governor of the Cape Colony
.
The battery was built in a “U” shape with a stone wall built immediately on the rocks at the waters edge. It had 16 mounted guns with an arc of fire of nearly 180 degrees. The battery also served as a prison and a quarantine
and convalescent wing of the old Somerset Hospital
.
It was used to protect the port and town until 1861 when construction work started on the Alfred and Victoria basins and some of the stone and rubble from the site was used to create a breakwater. Further damage occurred when coal bunkers and later a fish factory were built over the site.
and the construction of an office building for the BoE Stockbrokers
group and Nedbank
much of the battery was excavated by archaeologists from the University of Cape Town
, and has now been opened as a museum.
The museum includes the excavated walls, well and other components of part of the battery, with displays on cannons and the equipment needed to maintain and fire them and information boards related to the history of Cape Town.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa. Built in the early 18th century, it has served many purposes but is now a museum.
History
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:...
linked to the Castle of Good Hope
Castle of Good Hope
The Castle of Good Hope is a star fort which was built on the original coastline of Table Bay and now, because of land reclamation, lies nearer to the Cape Town city centre in South Africa.-History:...
. It was built in 1714–1725 by the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
, and named after its originator, Maurits Pasque de Chavonnes, who was the governor of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
.
The battery was built in a “U” shape with a stone wall built immediately on the rocks at the waters edge. It had 16 mounted guns with an arc of fire of nearly 180 degrees. The battery also served as a prison and a quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
and convalescent wing of the old Somerset Hospital
Somerset Hospital (Cape Town)
The Somerset Hospital in the Green Point area of Cape Town, South Africa opened in 1864 and has been declared a national monument.The hospital replaced one of the same name in Chiapinni Street, which had been founded by Dr Samuel Bailey in 1818 as the first civilian hospital in Cape Town...
.
It was used to protect the port and town until 1861 when construction work started on the Alfred and Victoria basins and some of the stone and rubble from the site was used to create a breakwater. Further damage occurred when coal bunkers and later a fish factory were built over the site.
Excavation and preservation
In the 1990s, during the development of the Clock Tower Precinct at the Victoria & Alfred WaterfrontVictoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in the historic heart of Cape Town's working harbour is South Africa's most-visited destination, having the highest rate of foreign tourists of any attraction in the country...
and the construction of an office building for the BoE Stockbrokers
BoE Stockbrokers
BoE Stockbrokers is an authorised financial services provider, and a member of the Nedbank Group. As a full-service South African stockbroking company, BoE Stockbrokers Ltd offers services from personal investment advice and investment management to extensive E-commerce facilities, focussing...
group and Nedbank
Nedbank
Nedbank is one of the largest banks in South Africa; however it is one of the newest banks to be incorporated in South Africa. It is headquartered in Johannesburg...
much of the battery was excavated by archaeologists from the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
, and has now been opened as a museum.
The museum includes the excavated walls, well and other components of part of the battery, with displays on cannons and the equipment needed to maintain and fire them and information boards related to the history of Cape Town.