Address- Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah 10200 Georgetown, Penang
Contact Number: +604-2610260 / 261
Fax: +604-2610260
Email: sebagus@tm.net.my
Opening hours - 8.30am to 6.30pm daily
The British defensive fortress built
on the site where Captain Francis Light landed on Penang
Island is the biggest intact fort in Malaysia. Fort
Cornwallis in Penang is one of the most sought-after tourist
destinations in this island. Fort Cornwallis derives its name from
Charles Cornwallis, the Governor-General in Bengal, India. Located next
to the Victoria Memorial Clock in George Town, this fort can offer you
an open-air amphitheatre, a history gallery, a souvenir centre, tourist
information kiosk and even a café. One of the oldest sites of Penang in
Malaysia, Fort Cornwallis was built in 1786 soon after Captain Francis
Light annexed Pulau Pinang or Penang from the Sultan of Kedah for the
British empire. Captain Light built this fort to defend the territory.
The original structure of the fort was made of nibong palms till it was
refurbished with stone and brick in 1804 by during Colonel R.T.
Farquhar’s term as Governor of Penang.
Features of Fort Cornwallis in Penang
- Fort Cornwallis in Penang functioned more as an administrative center rather than serving for defense
- You can still view some of the older structures like chapel,
prison cells, ammunitions storage area, a harbor light to notify for
incoming ships and old bronze canons
- One of these cannons called the Seri Rambai is considered to induce fertility in women.
- The moat that once surrounded the fort was filled in 1922 due to an outbreak of malaria.
Information by Patrimonio Mundial, taken from the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site 2009
Passport and asiarooms.com travel guide.