The Saints, Sinners and Students tour provides tourists and locals who thirst for knowledge of this city’s history a tour around High Street, Somerset Street, and Rhodes University campus.
The Saints, Sinners and Students tour provides tourists and locals who thirst for knowledge of this city’s history a tour around High Street, Somerset Street, and Rhodes University campus.
Led by tour guides Amy van Wenzel and Fleur Way Jones of the Albany Musuem – dressed up in Victorian outfits – they show visitors places of architectural interest around Grahamstown during the Festival.
The tour begins at the Albany Science Museum, the second oldest museum in the country, which was founded in 1855.
Visitors are informed about the military history of the town, that long before buildings at Rhodes were used for studying, they were used for military purposes.
The area around the picturesque clock tower was once the home of military activity and many buildings at Rhodes used to be army barracks.
The beautiful Drostdy lawns that are used by students to relax and catch up on reading in the sun, were once used as a parade ground.
No historical tour in Grahamstown would be complete without a talk being given on the City of Saint’s rich history of some of the churches and chapels in the town.
The tour also gives a captivating history about Grahamstown’s jails. The Old Provost museum was once a military prison based on Jeremy Bentham’s 18th century panopticon system, designed in such a way that the warden can view multiple prisoners at the same time.
The Old Gaol dates back to 1823 and was used as a prison up until the 70s. Visitors were surprised to learn that public executions once took place at this establishment.
The tour will tweak your general knowledge of the town and it’s a chance to visit the Rhodes campus while the students are on vacation. Tickets cost R35 for students and R40 for adults.
