Fort Selwyn, also known as the Selwyn Battery, was built between August 1835 and June 1836 towards the end of the Fifth Frontier War on the instructions of Governor Sir Benjamin D’Urban. It is located on Gunfire Hill behind Rhodes University in Grahamstown. Captain Charles J. Selwyn, officer commanding the Cape Corps of Royal Engineers in Grahamstown from 1835 to 1843 and after whom the fort is named, was responsible for converting the drosdy into a small, asymmetrical seven-pointed star masonry gun battery which enclosed two double storey barracks of stone, magazine and underground water tank. The purpose was to guard one approach to the town as well as its water supply.
Fort Selwyn was also the terminus for the two Lewis lines of signaling towers built to Fort Beaufort and Fort Peddie respectively after 1837, though never used.
Fort Selwyn was transferred to Royal Artillery in 1841, serving as their barracks till 1868. In 1870, Fort Selwyn was abandoned as a military installation. It was temporarily reoccupied during the Anglo Boer War. In 1825 it was revived as a tea garden and residence.
Fort Selwyn was proclaimed a national monument in 1936. The buildings are maintained by the Albany Museum and contain a museum. The signaling stations at Fort Selwyn, Fort Beaufort, Fort Peddie, Governor's Kop and Fraser's Camp have been restored. The three guns are naval 9 pounders from around 1800. In 1977 it was transferred to the Albany Museum.
Information sourced from http://www.mbendi.com/attraction/fort-selwyn-12572