Gloucester, Sierra Leone
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Gloucester () is a
mountainous A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
village in the
Western Area Rural District The Western Area Rural District is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. It is located mostly around the peninsula in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. The Western Area Rural District has a 2015 census population of 442,951. The distric ...
of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
. Gloucester lies approximately five miles east of
Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...
, and close proximity to the towns of
Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
and
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. It is located in a valley above Freetown with streams flowing from higher up in the mountains providing irrigation. Much of the area is wooded, but it is possible to see the
Bullom Shore Bullom Shore is geographical area in Sierra Leone facing the Atlantic Ocean and the estuary of Sierra Leone River The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone. It is formed by the Bankasoka River and Rok ...
to the north.
Africanus Horton Surgeon-Major James Africanus Beale Horton ( – ) was a British Army officer, surgeon, writer and banker. Born in Gloucester, Sierra Leone into a Creole family who were liberated from enslavement by the Royal Navy, he began attending the SL ...
, born in Gloucester, described the area as presenting "the most picturesque and lovely scenery that ever eye beheld in a tropical world".


History

Gloucester was founded by Governor Charles MacCarthy in 1814 as a settlement for liberated Africans, or recaptives, who had been freed for vessels involved in the slave trade by the
West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventive Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliament passed ...
. Henry Düring was a missionary active in the village between 1816–1823. He supervised the building of stone gothic-style church which was formally opened in 1820 with a service involving 400 recaptives.


Population

The population of Gloucester is almost entirely from the Creole ethnic group. The
Krio language The Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio is an English-based creole language that is the lingua franca and de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population, ...
is widely spoken in Gloucester.


Prominent people from Gloucester

*
Africanus Horton Surgeon-Major James Africanus Beale Horton ( – ) was a British Army officer, surgeon, writer and banker. Born in Gloucester, Sierra Leone into a Creole family who were liberated from enslavement by the Royal Navy, he began attending the SL ...


External links

*http://caroleinsl.blogspot.com/2010/05/walk-in-mountains-to-gloucester.html *http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=7&num=17110 *https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000047/http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=7&num=17134


References

{{reflist Western Area Villages in Sierra Leone Populated places established by Sierra Leone Creoles