Province of Freedom: Traces of emancipation in the vernacular of Freetown Part 2 Dissertation 2025 Muctarr Deen-Swarray London South Bank University | UK Established in the late eighteenth century as the ‘Province of Freedom,’ Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, was conceived as a haven where freed black slaves of diverse backgrounds could cohabitate freely. However, as Britain’s social experiment colony evolved, the very notion of this intended freedom came into question.This dissertation examines how the vernacular architecture of Freetown conveyed the ideals of ‘freedom’ as proclaimed during its colonial inception. To explore notions of freedom within Freetown in its modern-day incarnation, the study undertakes a rigorous exploration of the city’s rich and formative past, deeply intertwined with the transatlantic slave trade and the subsequent rise of the abolition movement.The essay argues that an intimate understanding and analysis of Freetown’s architectural remnants, when dissected across colonial history, can provide insight into present-day urban developments.These structures serve as tangible reflections of Freetown’s historical struggles and shifts in societal meaning. The Freetown-exclusive subjects for this exploration range from housing typologies such as the ‘bod os’ to settlements formed as a byproduct of the city’s growth, which will aid in deconstructing the potential reasons behind Freetown’s evolution and freedom. Tutor(s) Christopher Cowell