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History: The powder magazine of Fort Glamorgan nestles against the hill on the west bank of the Buffalo River, overlooking the harbour of East London.
The Seventh Xhosa War, also known as the War of the Axe, broke out in 1846. One of the big problems facing Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland was the transportation of troops to the far eastern frontier and keeping them supplied with food and ammunition. The overland route from Port Elizabeth was not only long, but dangerous and difficult. The obvious solution was to find a port nearer the front and to transport men and supplies by sea. Consequently a supply ship, the Waterloo, was sent to the mouth of the Fish River, where it succeeded in discharging its cargo at a small bay just east of the river mouth. Unfortunately the bay, which now became know Waterloo Bay, was extremely dangerous, so that it was impossible to land men and troops there regularly and, in any case, it was too far from the scene of battle.
Under these circumstances consideration was given to the mouth of the Buffalo River which, indeed, had been the subject of a favourable report in 1836. It was once again surveyed by Lieut. Forsyth and on orders of Sir Peregrine Maitland, work started in 1847 on a jetty and a powder magazine as well as three store-houses for provisions, military stores and landing gear. All these buildings were completed on 31st March, 1849. The complex was known as Fort Buffalo and stood on Camp Point or Castle Point, the furthest point west of the mouth of the river.
While these buildings were under construction, Sir Harry Smith, who had succeeded Maitland as governor, on 23rd December, 1847, proclaimed the land between the Keiskamma and the Kei Rivers as British Kaffraria.
At about the same time as this proclamation was announced, Sir Harry Smith decided to establish a small fort only a short distance above Fort Buffalo. Capt. J. Walpole, Officer Commanding the Royal Engineers was instructed to draw up the necessary plans and specifications. Everything was in readiness by the beginning of the following year and on 17th February, 1848, authority was granted for building the military post at a cost of R6 000, to be called Fort Glamorgan in honour of Col. Henry Somerset who had rendered distinguished service on the eastern frontier for many years. Henry Somerset was a son of Lord Charles and therefore closely related to the Duke of Beaufort who also bore the title of Earl of Glamorgan. The fort was built under the supervision of Lieutenant Terrois R.E. and was three-quarters built when Fort Buffalo was completed on 31st March, 1849.
The building of two forts at almost the same time seems illogical and wasteful, but a close study of the correspondence shows that Fort Glamorgan was merely an addition to Fort Buffalo. It provided accommodation for twenty mounted men with their officer and two divisions of infantry with four officers and a doctor, and for this reason it consisted merely of a barracks, a small hospital and the necessary outbuildings. Captain Walpole records that no storehouse for provisions was built because there were two at Buffalo. There is no mention of a magazine, apparently because there was one at Fort Buffalo.
The first troops to occupy Fort Glamorgan were the 73rd Regiment or Royal Highlanders, the renowned Black Watch, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Van der Meulen. They were in due course followed by various other garrisons.
The old magazine of Fort Buffalo was demolished in 1873 and in the course of time Fort Glamorgan also fell into ruin. All that remained of it was a powder magazine and this building presents a puzzling problem. For many years it was assumed to be part of the original Fort Glamorgan and it was proclaimed by the Historical Monuments Commission as the old powder magazine of Fort Glamorgan, built in 1847. However, Dr. J. Denfield has shown that this was not the case and its date remains a mystery. It may be assumed that it was built before 1873 to replace the original one at Fort Buffalo which was demolished in that year.
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Construction Date: 1849
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