Fort St. George (Chennai)

Last updated

Fort St. George
Part of Tamil Nadu
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Fort St. George, Chennai 2.jpg
Fort St. George, the seat of Government of Tamil Nadu
Chennai area locator map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fort St. George
Coordinates 13°04′47″N80°17′13″E / 13.079722°N 80.286944°E / 13.079722; 80.286944
Type Forts
Height45 m (148 ft)[ citation needed ]
Site information
Owner Indian Army
Controlled by Government of Tamil Nadu
ConditionGood
Site history
Built1639;385 years ago (1639)
Built by British East India Company
In use Government of Tamil Nadu
Garrison information
Occupants Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly–Secretariat
Plan of Fort St. George made during the French occupation of 1746-1749, with East at the top Plan de Madras pris par les Francais en 1746.jpg
Plan of Fort St. George made during the French occupation of 1746–1749, with East at the top
An 18th-century coloured engraving of the fort Fort St. George, Chennai.jpg
An 18th-century coloured engraving of the fort
Corner of Fort St. George showing the spire of St Mary's Church, where in 1753 Robert Clive married Margaret Maskelyne, the younger sister of the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne. Photo c. 1905. Fort St. George.jpg
Corner of Fort St. George showing the spire of St Mary's Church, where in 1753 Robert Clive married Margaret Maskelyne, the younger sister of the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne.
Photo c. 1905.

Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) [1] is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. [2] The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land. [3] Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city (formerly named Madras) evolved around the fortress. [4] The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings.

Contents

History

The East India Company (EIC), which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities, had begun licensed trading at Surat, which was its initial bastion. However, to secure its trade lines and commercial interests in the spice trade, it felt the necessity of a port closer to the Malaccan Straits, and succeeded in purchasing a piece of coastal land, originally called Chennirayarpattinam or Channapatnam, where the Company began the construction of a harbour and a fort. The fort was completed on 23 April 1644 at a cost of £3,000, [5] coinciding with St. George's Day, celebrated in honour of the patron saint of England. The fort, hence christened Fort St. George, faced the sea and some fishing villages, and it soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave birth to a new settlement area called George Town (historically referred to as Black Town), which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras. It also helped to establish English influence over the Carnatic region and to keep the kings of Arcot and Srirangapatna, as well as the French forces based at Pondicherry, at bay. In 1665, after the EIC received word of the formation of the new French East India Company, the fort was strengthened and enlarged while its garrison was increased. [6]

According to the 17th-century merchant and traveller Thomas Bowrey, Fort St. George was:

without all dispute a beneficial place to the Honourable English India Company, and with all the Residence of theire Honourable Agent and Governour all of their Affaires Upon this Coast and the Coast of Gingalee, the Kingdoms also of Orixa, (Orissa) Bengala (Bengal), and Pattana (Patna), the said Governour and his Councell here resideigne, for the Honour of our English Nation keepinge and maintainneinge the place in great Splendour, Civil and good Government, Entertaineinge nobly all Foraign Embassadors, and provideinge great quantities of Muzlinge (Muslin) Callicoes (Calico) &c. to be yearly transported to England. [7]

The Fort is a stronghold with 6-metre-high (20 ft) walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century. It briefly passed into the possession of the French from 1746 to 1749, but was restored to Great Britain under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession.

The Fort now serves as one of the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state and it still houses a garrison of troops in transit to various locations at South India and the Andamans. The Fort Museum contains many relics of the Raj era, including portraits of many of the Governors of Madras. The fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, with the administrative support of the Indian Army. [8] [9]

The church

St. Mary's Church is the oldest Anglican church in India. It was built between 1678 and 1680 on the orders of the then Agent of Madras Streynsham Master. [11] The tombstones in its graveyard are the oldest English or British tombstones in India. This ancient prayer house solemnised the marriages of Robert Clive and Governor Elihu Yale, who later became the first benefactor of Yale University in the United States.

Museum

The Fort Museum, which is the only ticketed institution of the Archaeological Survey of India in the complex, [12] exhibits many items of the period of English and later British rule. This building was completed in 1795 and first housed the office of the Madras Bank. The hall upstairs was the Public Exchange Hall and served as a place for public meetings, lottery draws and occasional entertainment. These relics are reminders of British rule in India. The objects on display in the museum are the weapons, coins, medals, uniforms and other artefacts from England, Scotland, France and India dating back to the colonial period. Original letters written by Clive and Cornwallis make fascinating reading. One set of quaint period uniforms is displayed for viewing, as well. However, the pièce de resistance is a large statue of Lord Cornwallis.

The National Flag of India was designed by Pingali Venkayya and adopted in its present form during the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, a few days before India's independence from Britain on 15 August 1947. The first ever flag flown after the independence is stored in the third floor of the museum. The public are allowed to see but not to touch or take photographs.

The museum is mentioned in the novel The Museum of Innocence , by the Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.

Wellesley House

The first floor of the building includes the Banqueting Hall, which holds paintings of the Governor of the Fort and other high officials of the administration. The cannons of Tipu Sultan decorate the ramparts of the museum. The 4.4-metre (14.5 ft) statue stands at the entrance near a stairway in the museum. This statue was created by Charles Bank in England to be brought to India. The pedestal of the statue is carved with a scene depicting Tipu Sultan's emissary handing over Tipu's two sons as hostage in lieu of a ransom he was unable to pay to the British. The house takes its name from Richard Wellesley, Governor General of India, and brother of the Duke of Wellington.

Flagstaff

The flagstaff at the fort is one of the tallest in the country. Made of teakwood, it is 46 metres (150 ft) high. [13]

Namakkal Kavignar Maligai

Namakkal Kavingar Maligai is a 10-storeyed building at the campus and is the power centre of state secretariat. It houses offices of the secretaries and departments. Between 2012 and 2014, the building was renovated at a cost of ₹ 280 million (equivalent to ₹450 millionorUS$5.4 million in 2023), with additional facilities like centralised air-conditioning and new electrical wiring system. [14]

In recent years

The entire complex is administered by the Department of Defence. The fort building is a three-storeyed one housing the offices of the chief minister and other ministers, the chief secretary, home ministry, treasury, etc. The remaining offices are housed in the 10-storeyed Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai, which houses more than 30 departments. [15]

The Fort St. George complex housed the administrative buildings of the Government of Tamil Nadu till March 2010. The Legislature of Tamil Nadu and the secretariat (with headquarters of various government departments) were situated in the fort. The fort itself was open to the public however only to a certain area. The main building or the secretariat was open only to government officials and the police. The cannons and the moat which guarded this old building have been left untouched. In 2010 the legislature and the secretariat moved to a new location and the old assembly complex was converted into a library for the Central Institute of Classical Tamil. [16] Following the 2011 assembly elections and the return of J Jayalalithaa as the Chief Minister of the State, the Tamil Nadu Assembly and the Secretariat have been restored to Fort St. George. [17]

Other monuments

An arch commemorating the diamond jubilee of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is under construction near the Fort on Rajaji Salai close to Napier Bridge. The structure is a replica of Fort St. George's façade. The arch will be rectangular in structure with a height of 12 m (41 ft) and a width of 80 m (260 ft) being built at a cost of ₹13.3 million (US$160,000). The structure will be a mix of old and modern architecture, inspired by the frontage of Fort St. George. The legend 'Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly diamond jubilee commemorative arch' would be inscribed in English and Tamil, in addition to the words '60 years'. The chief minister J Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for the arch on 30 October 2012. Earlier, the arch was planned to be constructed close to the entrance of Fort St. George, but was later relocated beyond the prohibitive zone, as per AMASR Act. A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Madras High Court opposing the move stating that the arch would choke Rajaji Salai that leads to the High Court. However, the petition was dismissed by a division bench on 9 January 2013. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vellore</span> City in Tamil Nadu, India

Vellore, also natively spelt as Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separated into four zones that are further subdivided into 60 wards, covering an area of 87.915 km2 and housing a population of 423,425 as reported by the 2001 census. It is located about 137.20 kilometres (85 mi) west of Chennai, and about 213.20 kilometres (132 mi) east of Bangalore. Vellore is located on the Mumbai–Chennai arm of the Golden Quadrilateral. Vellore is governed under a mayor and the Vellore Municipal Corporation. It is a part of both the Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies of Vellore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Chennai</span>

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fifth largest city. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 12.05 million (2024), the 383-year-old city is the 31st largest metropolitan area in the world.

Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway and later, the metre gauge section of the Southern division of the Indian Railways. It continues to be an important railway junction. The Government Museum, Chennai is also situated in Egmore. Other important institutions based in Egmore include the Government Women and Children's Hospital, the Tamil Nadu State Archives and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department. The Wesley Church, Egmore is the oldest church of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Museum, Chennai</span> Museum in Tamil Nadu, India

The Government Museum, Chennai, or the Madras Museum, is a museum of human history and culture located in the Government Museum Complex in the neighbourhood of Egmore in Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in India after the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It has among the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe, peculiarly in the numismatics field, and is very likely the most richly endowed museum in Asia concerning this civilisation. Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is one of the most impressive. The National Art Gallery is also present in the museum premises. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses rare European and Asian painting of renowned artists, including that of Raja Ravi Varma. It had 0.6 million visitors in 2018. It has the richest collections of bronze idols, 500 of them dating to 1000 BCE, in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Chennai</span> Architectural style

Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Tamil temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style of the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Legislative Council</span> Defunct upper house in India

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initially created as an advisory body in 1861, by the British colonial government. It was established by the Indian Councils Act 1861, enacted in the British parliament in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Its role and strength were later expanded by the second Council Act of 1892. Limited election was introduced in 1909. The Council became a unicameral legislative body in 1921 and eventually the upper chamber of a bicameral legislature in 1937. After India became independent in 1947, it continued to be the upper chamber of the legislature of Madras State, one of the successor states to the Madras Presidency. It was renamed as the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council when the state was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. The Council was abolished by the M. G. Ramachandran administration on 1 November 1986. In 1989, 1996 and 2010, the DMK regime headed by M. Karunanidhi tried to revive the Council. The former AIADMK regime (2016-2021) expressed its intention not to revive the council and passed a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in this regard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vellore Fort</span> 16th-century fort in India

Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India built by the Emperors of Vijayanagara. The fort was at one time the imperial capital of the Aravidu Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Salai</span> Arterial road in Chennai, India

Anna Salai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and ends at the Kathipara Junction in Guindy. Beyond the Kathipara Junction, a branch road arises traversing westwards to Poonamallee to form the Mount-Poonamallee Road while the main branch continuing southwards to Chennai Airport, Tambaram and beyond to form Grand Southern Trunk Road. Anna Salai, which is more than 400 years old, is acknowledged as the most important road in Chennai city. The head offices of many commercial enterprises and public buildings are located along Anna Salai. It is the second longest road in Chennai, after EVR Periyar Salai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Tamil Nadu</span> Indian state government

The Government of Tamil Nadu is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Town, Chennai</span> Neighbourhood in Chennai District, Tamil Nadu, India

George Town is a neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is near the Fort Saint George, Chennai. It is also known as Muthialpet and Parry's corner. It is an historical area of Madras city from where its expansion began in the 1640s. It extends from the Bay of Bengal in the east to Park town on the west. The Fort St. George is on the south, to Royapuram in the north. The Fort St. George houses the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat. The High court of Tamil Nadu at Chennai, Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Stanley Medical College and Hospital are located here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly</span> Unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the Speaker. The term of the Assembly is five years, unless dissolved earlier.

Local bodies in Tamil Nadu constitute the three tier administration set-up in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a system of local government which forms the last level from the Centre. Chennai Corporation in the then Madras Presidency, established in 1688, is the oldest such local body not only in India but also in any commonwealth nations outside United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajaji Hall</span> Building in India

Rajaji Hall, previously known as the Banqueting Hall, Madras, is a public hall in the city of Chennai, India used for social functions. The hall was built by John Goldingham to commemorate the British victory over Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital</span> Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India

Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super-Speciality Hospital is a 400-bed government-owned super-speciality hospital in Chennai, India. It is located at the Omandurar Government Estate on Anna Salai and was opened in February 2014. Originally built as Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and secretariat complex in 2010 to house the assembly hall, secretariat and offices of the chief minister and cabinet ministers, the complex was later converted into a super-speciality hospital. It was built in 1.93 million sq ft. at a total cost of ₹ 4,250 million in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M.G.R. and Amma Memorial</span> Memorial complex in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

M.G.R. and Amma Memorial, officially Bharat Ratna Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G.R. and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Selvi J. Jayalalithaa Memorial, is a memorial complex dedicated to the former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) and J. Jayalalithaa (Amma), where a black marble platform was raised on the spot of M.G.R.'s cremation on 25 December 1987, and on the spot of Jayalalithaa's on 6 December 2016. Both cemeteries consist of an eternal flame and a portrait of them at one end. A stone footpath leads to the lotus-shaped wall enclosure that houses the M.G.R. Memorial, with the sword pillar topped with a spherical-shaped dome light, and a stone footpath leads to the phoenix-shaped wall enclosure that houses the memorial of M.G.R.'s protégé and the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa. The memorial complex is located on Kamarajar Promenade, adjacent to the Anna Memorial on the Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Tamil Nadu Government Dental College, also known as Government Dental Hospital and College, is the dental wing of the Madras Medical College. Although the college is a separate entity administratively, it is functionally integrated with the Madras Medical College and Government General Hospital.

Namakkal Kavignar Maligai is an 11-storied building at the Fort St. George campus in Chennai, India, serving as the power centre of state secretariat of Tamil Nadu. It is the only skyscraper built within the Fort campus. As of 2014, there were about 6,000 staff at the secretariat.

The Madras Record Office, currently known as Tamil Nadu Archives (TNA), is located in Chennai and is one of the oldest and largest document repositories in Southern India. Documents stored and archived in TNA are invaluable to researchers working on post-independence Tamil Nadu or British-era Madras Presidency. In addition to British India records, TNA also houses a substantial collection of Dutch East India Company records from the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and volumes relating to various southern Princely States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras High Court</span> High court in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is one of the oldest high courts of India along with Calcutta High Court in Kolkata and Bombay High Court in Mumbai. The Madras High Court is one of four charter high courts of colonial India established in the four Presidency Towns of Madras, Bombay, Allahabad and Calcutta by letters patent granted by Queen Victoria, dated 26 June 1862. It exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai, as well as extraordinary original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, under the letters patent and special original jurisdiction for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India. Covering 107 acres, the court complex is one of the largest in the world, second only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The four-storey administrative building attracts hundreds of litigants every day.

References

  1. ↑ James Talboys Wheeler (1881). The History of India from the Earliest Ages. N. Trübner. pp. 489–.
  2. ↑ Roberts, "History of the World" (Penguin, 1994)
  3. ↑ Muthiah, S (12 August 2002). "A centenary's links with Chennai". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 28 October 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2002.
  4. ↑ "Fort St George - Fort St. George Chennai, Fort Saint George Chennai Tamil Nadu India". Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  5. ↑ Keay, John (1991). The Honourable Company A History Of The English East India Company (1993 ed.). Great Britain: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 69. ISBN   978-0-00-743155-7.
  6. ↑ Talboys Wheeler, James (1861). Madras in the Olden Time. Vol. 1. Madras: J. Higginbotham. p. 72. ISBN   9788120605534. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Bowrey, Thomas (1895). Temple, Richard Carnac (ed.). A Geographical Account of Countries Round the Bay of Bengal, 1669 to 1679. Printed for the Hakluyt Society. p.  4.
  8. ↑ http://asichennai.gov.in/downloads/list-of-colonial-buildings.pdf Archived 20 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine [ bare URL PDF ]
  9. ↑ Jesudasan, Dennis S. (10 August 2018). "Business group may adopt Fort St. George". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  10. ↑ MacLeod, Norman (1871). Peeps at the Far East: A Familiar Account of a Visit to India. London: Strahan & Co. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Talboys Wheeler, James (1861). Madras in the Olden Time. Vol. 1. Madras: J. Higginbotham. p. 104. ISBN   9788120605534. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  12. ↑ https://www.goibibo.com/destinations/chennai/places-to-visit-in-chennai/fort-st-george-7368689592210220682/ Archived 5 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine [ bare URL ]
  13. ↑ "Fort St. George, Chennai". Maps of India. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  14. ↑ Mariappan, Julie (10 July 2014). "Jayalalithaa opens renovated exterior of Namakkal Kavignar Maligai". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "புதுப்பிக்கப்பட்ட நாமக்கல் கவிஞர் மாளிகை: ஜெயலலிதா நாளை திறந்து வைக்கிறார்". Malai Malar (in Tamil). Chennai. 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "Old Assembly Chamber to turn reference library". The Hindu . 11 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  17. ↑ "New secretariat in Chennai to be converted into hospital". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  18. ↑ Sasidharan, S. (19 February 2013). "Work begins on Assembly arch". The Deccan Chronicle. Chennai. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.