Old Wharf Steps

Late-18th-century stone landing place at Susan's Bay, one of the oldest structures in the city

A flight of stone steps running down to the water at the eastern edge of the central waterfront, used in the early 19th century as the landing place for freed Africans brought in by the Royal Navy. The steps are among the oldest surviving brick structures in Freetown and have been recognised by UNESCO as a site of memory.

They are tucked away below the King Jimmy Market and are easiest to find by asking for "the wharf steps" or by descending from Pademba Road to the bay. The surrounding waterfront is dense and lively — visit in daylight and ideally with a guide.

things to do sight history
A story
The steps were built in 1818 to handle landings from the slave ships intercepted by the Royal Navy in the Atlantic. Liberated Africans were unloaded here and walked up to the King's Yard for registration. The slope down which they walked is the same one the steps still climb today.

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