Photo: Tamba Lamin
Old Fourah Bay College
Site · Cline Town, Freetown
The Old Fourah Bay College building in Cline Town was a massive four-storey structure of dressed laterite blocks, built between 1845 and 1848. In 1876 Fourah Bay College became the first university college in Black Africa.
The college later moved and the building served other uses, including as railway headquarters. It was badly damaged and burnt after the 1999 rebel invasion of Freetown, and today its gutted stone ruins remain a protected national monument.
Opening hours
- Days open
- Varies - confirm locally
- Hours
- 09:00 - 17:00
Note: Generally open 9 AM to 5 PM - confirm locally
Entry fees
Fees are not confirmed. Check locally before you travel.
Photos
- Photo: Tamba Lamin (© TpGroup (SL) Limited, used by the owner)
- Photo: Tamba Lamin (© TpGroup (SL) Limited, used by the owner; people shown are tour members who consented (confirmed by the owner 2026-09-27))
- Historic photograph, before the building became a ruin. Photo: Jared & Melanie & Huxley Ponchot (CC BY 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
Information on this page is paraphrased from the following public sources.