List of National Monuments of Sierra Leone
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 | Site of an 18th-century British slave castle on Bunce Island. |
| Heddle's Farm | Freetown | 1820 | 1948 | 8°28′27.11″N 13°13′3.17″W / 8.4741972°N 13.2175472°W | 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 | An inscribed rock left by Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, Freetown's oldest monument. |
| Bastions of Fort Thornton | Freetown | 1805 | 1949 | 8°29′3.12″N 13°14′0.78″W / 8.4842000°N 13.2335500°W | Fortifications on Tower Hill |
| Earthworks and Live Stockade at Masakpaidu | Kono District | c.1800 | 1949 | 8°50′49.48″N 11°1′9.43″W / 8.8470778°N 11.0192861°W | An abandoned fortified village that was founded before the arrival of Europeans. |
| Gateway to the King’s Yard | Freetown | 1817 | 1949 | 8°29′18.85″N 13°14′18.73″W / 8.4885694°N 13.2385361°W | Gateway through which ex-slaves entered the settlement of Freetown. |
| Ruins of John Newton’s House and slave barracoons | Moyamba District | 1725 | 1949 | 7°54′37.43″N 12°59′25.21″W / 7.9103972°N 12.9903361°W | 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 | 1818–9 | 1953 | 8°29′20.13″N 13°14′15.80″W / 8.4889250°N 13.2377222°W | Early 19th century stairs leading down to Government wharf. |
| Old city boundary guns | Freetown | c.1800 | 1953 | 1# 8°28′59.90″N 13°12′46.07″W / 8.4833056°N 13.2127972°W 2# No longer visisble 3# 8°28′22.95″N 13°14′11.97″W / 8.4730417°N 13.2366583°W | Three 18th Century cannons that probably came from a condemned slave ship |
| Old Fourah Bay College building | Freetown | 1845–8 | 1955 | 8°28′37.9″N 13°13′16.3″W / 8.477194°N 13.221194°W | The 19th century four-storey building at Fourah Bay College developed into the first University College in Africa. |
| St. John's Maroon Church | Freetown | 1820 | 1956 | 8°29′8.8″N 13°14′11.9″W / 8.485778°N 13.236639°W | 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 | The oldest stone church in Sierra Leone and the third oldest in Africa. |
| Firing point and guns near Old Wharf | Dublin, Banana Islands | 18th & 19th century | 1956 | 8°8′11.07″N 13°11′32.66″W / 8.1364083°N 13.1924056°W | Early British fortifications against pirates that were established 80 years before Freetown. |
| Martello Tower | Freetown | 1805 | 1961 | 8°29′15.51″N 13°14′7.70″W / 8.4876417°N 13.2354722°W | Built to counter any threat from Napoleon. |
| Grave of Captain Lendy | Kono District | 1893 | 1965 | 8°9′7.97″N 10°59′47.46″W / 8.1522139°N 10.9965167°W | Burial site of a British officer who was accidentally killed during a conflict with the Wassoulou Empire. |