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Craig's Tower and Battery
Milnerton, Cape Town, Western Cape
G BRIDGES: Architect
Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | Craig's Tower and Battery G BRIDGES: Architect |
| Drawn by G BRIDGES (LEWCOCK, 1963: 443). The British takeover of the Cape in August/September 1795 was well planned and professionally executed. Commissioner Sluijsken's preparations presented no obstacle to the invader when a British force landed in Muizenberg. The military government under General Craig quickly proceeded to install the first professional Ordnance Department at the Cape. Its brief was, amongst other duties, to survey, repair and erect such works as were needed "to put the defence of the place on a sound footing" (Western Cape Archives). A major contribution during the first British Occupation of the Cape (1795 to 1803) was the building of Martello Towers in Simon's Town and on Milnerton beach (Craig's Tower and Battery), and the blockhouse at the East Fort in Hout Bay. The towers were modelled on the "Martello Tower" concept of Corsica and adapted to conditions at the Cape. It proved economical and fortified an area quickly and efficiently. See South African History Online. There is also an extant Martello Tower in Fort Beaufort. References:
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