The Bathurst Defence Complex 1820-1864
Magazine, Star Forts on Battery Hill and St John’s, “The Citadel”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/gwk8mh68Keywords:
Bathurst Defence Complex, Powder Magazine, Star Forts, St John’s Church, Cape Frontier Wars, 1820 Settlers, Lower Albany, Military Architecture, Colonial Defence, Lord Charles Somerset (1767-1831), Henry Somerset (1794-1862), Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin (1773-1841), Charles Michell, Sir Benjamin D’Urban, Sir James Edward Alexander (1802-1885)Abstract
This article examines the Bathurst Defence Complex, a crucial but geographically flawed military and civilian refuge on the Cape frontier, operational from its establishment in 1820 until its abandonment in 1864. Initiated by Acting Governor Sir Rufane Donkin as a township and administrative centre to protect the settler line, Bathurst's location in dense thicket was later criticised as highly unfavourable for defence against the Xhosa. The complex, which comprised the 1820 Powder Magazine and barracks, the two Star Forts (or redoubts) built on Battery Hill in 1835 following the Sixth Frontier War, and the fortified St John's Church (dubbed "The Citadel"), proved essential during multiple frontier conflicts, offering safety to settler families. The narrative details the complex's construction, key figures involved (including Donkin, Lord Charles Somerset, Henry Somerset, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, and Charles Michell), and its role during the 1834–35 and 1846 Frontier Wars, ultimately highlighting how the combined military and civilian structures formed a life-saving defensive system until shifting colonial security priorities led to its closure.
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