Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		Blockhouse Ritchie district, Northern Cape ROYAL ENGINEERS: Architect

Date: 1901 Type: Blockhouse Status: Extant   Click to view map Coordinates: 29°02'20.68" S 24°37'32.55" E Alt: 1115m

See more photographs Built of dolerite. Built during the Anglo-Boer War to guard the Rail Bridge over the Modder River. The settlement of Modder River was begun shortly after the railway line reached there in 1885 and by the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War there were at least six hotels at what had become a weekend destination for Kimberley citizens. The river's banks were the scenes of heavy fighting in the beginning of the Second Boer War at the Battle of Modder River aka the Battle of Two Rivers. It is near the confluence of the Riet and Modder rivers in the Northern Cape, 30 kilometres south of Kimberley. (Summary by Paul v d Merwe from: AngloBoerWar.com) References: Richardson, Deirdré. 2001. Historic Sites of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers. pg 179