Fort Metal Cross, Dixcove: The English Fort That Never Found Its Gold

The gold never came. What the English extracted from the hinterland was largely impure, and the fort acquired a reputation to match — the Dutch writer Willem Bosman dismissed it as "The fake mint of the Gold Coast"

So the fort adapted, and what it adapted into is the harder part of its history.

It became a service station: a place to repair ships and take on timber from the surrounding forest. And during the era of the transatlantic slave trade, it became a slave prison. The Door of No Return still stands at Dixcove, locked.

By 1750 the fort was equipped to carry as many as twenty-five cannon.

Read our wider account of the trade this fort served in British colonial rule and the West African slave trade.

How it got the name it has now

Fort Metal Cross is a Dutch name, and a recent one.

Under the Anglo-Dutch exchange agreement of 1867, the fort passed to the Netherlands in 1868. The Dutch renamed it Metalen Kruis, after one of their gunboats.

The handover went badly. The people of the area had not been consulted about being traded between European powers, and their anger was such that the Dutch had to call for military reinforcement to restore order across their newly acquired territory.

Dutch control lasted four years. In 1872 the fort returned to Britain — which kept the Dutch name. It has been Fort Metal Cross ever since.

You will find sources online claiming the name comes from a metal cross erected by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board attributes it to the gunboat.

Abandonment, return and restoration

The fort's later history is a sequence of disuse and revival. The English abandoned it in 1826 and reoccupied it in 1830. It was restored in 1954–56.

After the colonial period ended it took on the ordinary municipal lives that many Ghanaian forts did — police station, post office, prison, and a gathering place for the community and local church congregations.

In 1979 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions, under criterion (vi): its association with events of outstanding universal significance.

Visiting today

Getting there from Accra. Takoradi is roughly four hours by road, or about 45 minutes by air. From Takoradi take the Takoradi–Tarkwa road to Agona Junction, then follow the signage to Dixcove. Public transport to Agona Junction runs from Takoradi. [VERIFY current air routes — Tro-Tro1s on this route have changed, du to bad road conditions, or you just hire a taxi. Prices need to be agreed on upfront!]

When to go. November to March, the dry season. The coastal sun is strong year-round.

What you will see. The ramparts, the cannon positions, the cells, and a commanding view over the cove — quiet water suited to canoes and small boats, with larger vessels anchoring about two kilometres offshore.

Practicalities. Wear closed shoes; the stonework is uneven. Bring water and cash. If you want a guided tour rather than a self-directed walk, please speak to the caretaker. There are also very close overnight stay options and a resataurant.

A note on the town. Dixcove has long been divided into Upper and Lower quarters, historically Ntwarkro and Daazikessie. Land disputes between the two have produced episodes of violence in recent years. Visitors are not the target of any of this, but it is reasonable to ask locally about the current situation before you go.