The Breakwater Lodge in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

, South Africa was built as a prison in 1859. It is now part of the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and a hotel. The original prison was built in 1859 for convicts from Britain at the suggestion of John Montagu who was the colonial secretary to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...

from 1843 to 1852. They were transported to The Cape to work on the construction of the breakwater which would allow the harbour which is now the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to be built. The remains of a treadmill on which prisoners were punished can still be seen. During the later part of the 19th century other prisoners were accommodated at Breakwater prison and it was the first site to racially segregate black and white convicts. In 1902 white prisoners were moved into a new building, called the Industrial Breakwater Prison, which remains today. The design with four castellated turrets and an enclosed courtyard was styled after

Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Mi ...

and

Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...

prisons in England. After ten years as a prison it became a juvenile offenders institution and from 1926 until 1989 a hostel for black dock workers. Since 1991 it has served as the business school of

and hotel run by the Protea chain.

References

External links

History of Cape Town {{Prison-stub

See also

References

External links