Fort St. George, India
Fort St. George | |
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Part of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly–Secretariat |
Fort St. George (or historically, White Town)
History
The
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
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Fort St. George in 1858
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In the Fort, Madras (MacLeod, p. 124, 1871)[10]
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,
The
The museum is mentioned in the novel The Museum of Innocence, by the Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.
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Victoria Memorial Hall
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Coat of Arms of Madras Presidency depicting Fort St. George
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
Flagstaff
The flagstaff at the fort is one of the tallest in the country. Made of
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 million or US$5.6 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
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$170,000). 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
- Heritage structures in Chennai
- History of Chennai
- List of Tamil Nadu Government Estates, Complexes, Buildings and Structures
- Tamil Nadu legislative assembly-secretariat complex
- Timeline of Chennai history (Section: 17th century)
- Fort William, India
References
- ^ James Talboys Wheeler (1881). The History of India from the Earliest Ages. N. Trübner. pp. 489–.
- ^ Roberts, "History of the World" (Penguin, 1994)
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ISBN 978-0-00-743155-7.
- ISBN 9788120605534. Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://asichennai.gov.in/downloads/list-of-colonial-buildings.pdf Archived 20 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
- ^ 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.
- ^ MacLeod, Norman (1871). Peeps at the Far East: A Familiar Account of a Visit to India. London: Strahan & Co. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ISBN 9788120605534. Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ 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]
- ^ "Fort St. George, Chennai". Maps of India. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Old Assembly Chamber to turn reference library". The Hindu. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "New secretariat in Chennai to be converted into hospital". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ 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.
External links
- Letters to Fort St. George
- Paintings of Fort St George
- The University of Houston Digital Library has a collection of historical photographs from the magazine India Illustrated.