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Seagetaway - Historical buildings
Historical buildings and sites to visit kindly advised by Dr Boet Dommisse Several books, guide books and pamphlets about Simon's Towns history are available from the Simon's Town Museum. Approximately 1km before reaching Simon's Town note the small gabled cottage on the shore-side - Klein Vishoek. originally a fisherman's cottage, dates from 1809. Pass the Railway Station (1890) on the left and opposite and above stands Palace Barracks (1785), currently under repair. Admiralty House and its extensive gardens are behind the wall on your left, and Studlands (1797) is opposite. Turn left down Court Road passing the lovely St Francis Church completed in 1837. Next to this is The Residency dating from 1777 and now the Simon's Town Museum. Return to the main road (St George's St.) and note the Mast House and Clocktower on the left. Steps lead down to the SA Naval Museum. Looking up to the mountain side you will see the iron supports of the old Cable Way and a little further on the Methodist (Wesleyan) Church (1827.Next to the Mast House are the West Dockyard Storehouses which were built in 1743. Entering the main town, pause to admire the ornate gates of the West Dockyard and directly opposite is the restored British Hotel (1898).There are many interesting buildings along St George's Street. Turn into Jubilee Square - formerly Market Square. This provides a lovely view over the yacht harbour with the life-size statue of the Great Dane dog, Just Nuisance. From here you can walk down the ramp to Albertyn's Stables, now the foundry and sculpture gallery. The Heritage Museum in Amlay House is opposite. Rejoining St George's Street note the Toy Museum on the corner. The main road ascends gently passed the Old Simon's Town School building (1896) and the Church of St Simon and St Jude (1850) on the right and the Dutch Reformed Church (1856) on the left side. The interesting Old Burying Ground is near the top of the rise. Looking down to the shore line you can see the Martello Tower, built in 1796, unfortunately not accessible to the public. The main road leads on, passing the road down to Seaforth and the Penguins, and further on Bellevue Road alongside the Golf Course which was the site of the Boer prisoner-of-war camp (1899-1902). From here the road winds on along the coast towards Cape Point. For detailed information, maps, guide books, history books or tours visit the Simon's Town Museum or the Information Office alongside Jubilee Square. For details on our naval history visit the naval museum. this article is hosted at gosimonstown.com - the ultimate guide to Simonstown
Simon's Town Museum (c1777), SA Naval Museum (1815) and Toy Museum
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![]() Klein Vishoek (1809)
Railway Station (1890)
Studlands (1797)
British Hotel (1898)
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