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The National Monuments of Sierra Leone , in West Africa, are proclaimed in accordance with the Monuments and Relics Ordinance of 1947 with Dr Macormack Charles Farrell Easmon serving as the first chairman of the Monuments and Relics Commission.[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 2000s 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 sites are maintained by the Sierra Leonean Monuments and Relics Commission, a branch of the country's Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
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; -12.9903361
Site 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; -13.2259889
The 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
External links