Right next to Bo Kaap is the Prestwich Memorial on the Buitengracht since 2008. It is on a par with the colonial outskirts of the city and the burial place of the Dutch Reformed Church from 1755. The monument itself stands on an early nineteenth-century extension of this cemetery. The walls of the monument refer to the historic buildings and walls that once stood in this area. Outside, part of the old perimeter wall can still be seen, as well as remnants of a tram track, which ran as a tram line from Cape Town to Camps Bay. Inside, the place consists of a coffee corner, an exhibition space with texts and photos, and a separate ossuary, where a system of wooden racks contains the remains of thousands of people, many of whom were enslaved. Human remains were transferred from several cemeteries in Cape Town, including Cobern Street, the Dock Road area, and Prestwich Street (see cemeteries for the enslaved).

Sources

• Humphreys, Robyn; Schasiepen, Sophie; Burnett, Andri; Moretlwe, Tshiamo & Makheta, Mamello. (2024). Prestwich Street Burial Ground: Memory Contestations in Cape Town. [podcast] https://open.spotify.com/episode/28j504hqdTe0YZFGB495ww?si=aQhcqVZLQ3mYA0iL0YSyVA&nd=1&dlsi=7a99b9d0a5734405.
• Mbeki, Linda. (2018). Building Life Histories of Cape Town’s Enslaved, 1700-1850. An Archival and Isotopic Study. Unpublished PhD thesis. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• Weeder, Michael Ian. (2006). The Palaces of Memory. A Reconstruction of District One, Cape Town, Before and After the Group Areas Act. Unpublished MA dissertation. University of the Western Cape.