Crowther Masonic Hall, Kollam | |
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ക്രൗതര് മസോണിക് ഹാള്, കൊല്ലം | |
Former names | The Crowther Hall |
General information | |
Architectural style | British |
Location | Near DCC Office, Kochupilamoodu Kollam, India |
Completed | 1806 |
Owner | Freemasons of Kerala (Lodge Vanchinad) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 2 |
Crowther Masonic Hall in Kollam is a part of the Grand Lodge of India and it was a meeting place for many Masonic Lodges in the Quilon (Kollam) area. It is near Kochupilamoodu in Kollam city and has been a Masonic meeting place since 1806. [1] The building is now considered as a historic monument of Freemasonry activities in ancient Travancore area.
The Crowther Masonic Hall, Kollam (formerly known as Quilon ), built by the patron Esquire Mr. Richard Facey Hunter Crowther popularly known as R.F.H. Crowther (1892-1953), was there in the map of Grand Lodge of Freemasons even before the constitution of Grand Lodge of India. [2] [3] The first Freemasons lodge was established at Calcutta in 1730 and first Irish Lodge was established at Madras in 1754. Incidentally, the first Lodge in Kerala was founded in the year 1806 by the name "Travancore Union" at Quilon. It was actually the relocation of Lodge Minden (Lodge Minden no. 464) to Quilon. [4] [5] The Crowther Hall was constructed during that time by Richard Facey Hunter Crowther (1892-1953), who received Roll of Honour repeatedly in the years 1934, 1935 and 1941. [6] [7]
In 1822 another Lodge by the name ‘Hibernia and Union’ was started and that too at Quilon. In 1941, Lodge Quilon was established, nearly 135 years after the first Lodge in Quilon was constituted. Now the Kollam Freemasons are active in Lodge Vanchinad No. 273 Kollam, which is near Anandevalleeswaram temple in the city. [8] A Freemasons hall is there in Anandevalleeswaram. [9] They are conducting meetings on 1st Sunday of every month [10]
In 2009, the district authorities had taken a decision to demolish Crowther Masonic Hall to build Kollam's court complex. Mr. Shajahan, the then district collector have directed the authorities to initiate the land inspection as a preliminary to the land transfer proposal. But later they dropped the project because of protests from the local population to demolish an ancient pride of the city. [11]
The Kingdom of Travancore, also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor or later as Travancore State, was kingdom that lasted from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.
Kollam, is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Thiruvanathapuram (Trivandrum). Kollam is one of India's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with evidence of habitation stretching back to the megalithic; the city has also been a maritime entrepôt millennia, the earliest attestation of which dates back to the Phoenicians and Romans. It is the southern gateway to the Backwaters of Kerala, and is known for its cashew processing, coir manufacturing, and tourism industries.
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma (1758–98).
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam (Quilon). It was one of the major principalities of Kerala, along with kingdoms of Kannur (Kolathunadu), Kozhikode (Nediyiruppu), and Kochi (Perumpadappu) in medieval and early modern period.
Kollam district, is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an inland lake. The district has many water bodies. Kallada River is one among them, and land on the east bank of the river is East Kallada and that on the west bank is West Kallada.
Kundara is a census town in Kerala and is part of the Kollam Metropolitan Area, India. Kundara is situated 13 km east of Kollam city, 14 km west of Kottarakkara, and 24 km north of Paravur. Kundara is significant for its historic involvement in the Indian independence movement.
Abubakar Abdul Rahim was an Indian politician, freedom fighter, and union minister. He was born to Sri Abubecker in Kollam. The government run District Hospital of Kollam district was renamed after him in commemoration.
Chalakuzhy Paulose Mathen was an Indian politician who served as a member of the Indian Parliament in the first Lok Sabha, constituted in 1952 after India gained independence from the United Kingdom. He represented the Thiruvalla constituency of Kerala. Mathen was appointed the Indian Ambassador to Sudan after his single term in the Lok Sabha.
Kollam Junction railway station is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.) It is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. It is the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area and largest in terms of number of tracks and one of the oldest railway stations in the state. It is also the second busiest railway station in Kerala in terms of trains handled per day. World's third longest railway platform is situated at Kollam railway station.
Quilon Aerodrome or Kollam Airport was an aerodrome in the city of Kollam in the former state of Travancore, now in Kerala, India. During the 1920s, there were no other civil aerodromes in the kingdoms of Cochin, Travancore and the Malabar District at the time of the British ruled Madras Presidency. With the commissioning of Trivandrum International Airport in 1932 at state capital 57 kilometres (35 mi) to the south, the aerodrome fell into disuse and came to be known as the Asramam Maidan.
Chamakada or Chamakkada is a trade hub of the city of Kollam, India, in the core Downtown Kollam area. The area has wholesale dealers and rice merchants. Chamakada is the second main commercial centre of Kollam city after Chinnakada.
The Bishop Jerome Institute or BJI or BJGI is an institution situated in Kollam city of Kerala, India. It is one among the AICTE approved engineering and management colleges situated inside the city limit of Kollam.
Kollam Cantonment is a residential neighbourhood in the city of Kollam. It arose as a cantonment of the British Raj in the 17th century. It is now a thickly populated area of the city of Kollam. Some of the important business centres, shopping complexes and Government offices are located here. Kollam Junction railway station is also located in the cantonment ward of corporation.
Transport in Kollam includes various modes of road, rail and water transportation in the city and its suburbs. State-owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses, private buses, Indian Railways, state-owned Kerala State Water Transport Department boats & ferry, taxis and auto rickshaws are serving the city of Kollam. The city had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Ibn Battuta mentioned Kollam Port as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels.
The Southern Division, or Padmanabhapuram Division till 1921 and Trivandrum Division from 1921 to 1949, was one of the administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore, located to the South of Quilon and Kottayam Division. It covered the five taluks of Agastiswaram, Eraniel, Kalkulam, Thovalay and Vilavancode and was administered by a civil servant of rank Diwan Peishkar equivalent to a District Collector in British India. The Southern division was predominantly Tamil-speaking in contrast to the other three divisions where Malayalam was spoken. In 1920, the neighbouring Trivandrum was also merged with the Southern division. In 1949, the princely state of Travancore was dissolved and the Southern Division was included in the Travancore-Cochin state of India.
Trivandrum Division was an administrative division of the princely state of Travancore, located to the south of Quilon or central Travancore. It was composed of eight taluks — Chirayinkir, Nedumangadu, Neyyattankara, Pattanapuram, Shenkotta, North Trivandrum and South Trivandrum and was administered by a civil servant of rank Diwan Peishkar equivalent to a District Collector in British India. The administrative headquarters were at Trivandrum which was also the seat of the Travancore government and the residence of the Maharajah.
Dr. L. A. Ravi Varma, was a historian, ophthalmologist and philosopher of the 20th century in Kerala, India. He was a critical figure who enriched the Ayurvedic literature contributing to its renaissance. In January 1940, he was appointed as Director of the joint Oriental Manuscripts Libraries of the Government of Kerala and the Kerala University. He was conferred the Honorary Title of Vaidyashastra Nipunan and Gaveshana Thillakan by Chithira Thirunal Maharaja, the King of Travancore, Kerala, India.
Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line is a railway line in Southern Railway zone connecting the cities of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala, India. The line was opened on 4 January 1918 as the extension of Madras–Quilon line during metre gauge era.
Quilon or Coulão, officially Kollam, is one of the ancient civilizations in India. It is one of the oldest port cities in the Malabar Coast and was the capital city of historic Venad Kingdom and Travancore Kingdom. Quilon was once an important trading port in India. It was also known as Desinganadu. It is now known as the "Cashew Capital of the World".