The city's broad tree-lined streets and imposing public buildings are the legacy of a time when Grahamstown was the Cape's second city, it became the seat of bishopric in 1852 and in 1864 the site of the only session of the Cape Parliament to held outside Cape Town. Grahamstown are characteristically proud of their city's historical heritage, a pride which is evident in the care taken to preserve and enhance the many historic buildings which endure to this day.

Prominent among these are the city's many places of worship, numbering over forty, which testify to the variety of cultures which coexist in the city, and the premises of Rhodes University and the several excellent schools, all of which combine to lend the city its air of cultural diversity.

Grahamstown was founded by Lt. Colonel John Graham in 1812 as the military headquarters for a system of forts along the Fish River, which had been established as the boundary of the Cape Colony.

Lord Charles Somerset became governor of the Colony in 1814 and he saw that a concentration of European settlers along the border would do away with the need for more soldiers to maintain the frontier.

At this time, there was much unemployment in Britain. Soldiers had been demobilised after the Napoleonic Wars and the industrial revolution was at its height. So Somerset's frontier scheme seemed an ideal solution to both the problems existing in Britain and the Cape Colony.

The Settlers were given a very unrealistic description of the life they would have on the Frontier. The 100 acre land allotments for each family was totally inadequate for successful farming, particularly so, as the Settlers were not of farming stock. Most had earned their living as artisans and craftsmen. As crops failed successively, they began drifting into towns, where they reverted to their former trades.

The authorities at first opposed this exodus from the land, but eventually granted the Settlers building plots in Grahamstown. Beautifully restored groups of these cottages can still be seen around Artificer's Square in New and MacDonald Streets, and many of the shops remain a reminder of those early days of trading.