Raj Bhavan, Chennai
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Raj Bhavan, Tamil Nadu | |
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ஆளுநர் மாளிகை, தமிழ்நாடு | |
General information | |
Type | Main residence |
Coordinates | 13°00′21″N 80°13′36″E / 13.005948°N 80.226565°E |
Current tenants | R. N. Ravi |
Owner | Government of Tamil Nadu |
References | |
Website |
Raj Bhavan (
History
The earliest official residence of the
Guindy Lodge, it is believed, was built by Governor William Langhorne (1672–1678) in the early 1670s in garden space carved out of the Guindy Forest that had helped make St. Thomas’ mount a salubrious place for rest and recreation. When Langhorne left in 1678, he sold the property to the then Chief Merchant of Madras, Beri Chinna Venkatadri, the younger brother of one of the founders of the city, Beri Thimappa. When Chinna Venkatadri had problems with the East India Company, he gifted Guindy Lodge to the Company’s Madras Government.
Area of Raj Bhavan
Raj Bhavan is situated in the
- 1958: transferred to the Union Education Ministry for locating the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
- 1958: transferred To the Forest Department for Deer Park and Children’s Park at the instance of the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru
- 1974: transferred for Rajaji Memorial
- 1975: transferred for Kamaraj Memorial
- 1977: transferred to the Forest Department to become a national park
There are also two pieces of land near the Adyar River Bed and in Ikkadu Thangal, respectively, totalling 8.63 acres (34,900 m2), belonging to Raj Bhavan. This is where water pumping stations that supply water to Raj Bhavan are located.[citation needed] The Chennai Raj Bhavan is regarded as one of the largest Raj Bhavans in the country.[1]
In and around Raj Bhavan, it has deer (spotted deer, black buck and albino), mongoose, jackals, many varieties of reptiles and a large number of birds like partridges, pheasants, parrots, quail, paradise fly-catcher, etc. Bird watchers have noticed migratory birds here. Used as a government ‘country house’ till the area was ravaged by the French and Mysore in the 18th century, Guindy lodge then passed into private hands at the beginning of the 19th century. The first private owner mentioned is Mr. Gilbert Ricketts of Madras, who in 1813, was seeking a loan from the government bank. When Ricketts died intestate in December, 1817, with the property heavily mortgaged to the Bank and one Mr. Griffiths, the estate devolved on the Registrar of the Supreme Court as administrator. Protracted legal proceedings favoured the Bank which, thereafter, in 1821, offered the property to the Government for a sum of 10,000 pagodas (or Rs.35,000). Government also acquired an adjacent property for Rs.8,750 from the merchant Joseph Nazar Shawmier. Between 1821 and 1824, Government linked the two properties with a third purchaser and the Raj Bhavan property as it existed at Independence came into being.
See also
- Government Houses of the British Indian Empire
- List of Tamil Nadu Government Estates, Complexes, Buildings and Structures
References
- ^ Ramakrishnan, T. (23 June 2018). "Soon, you can walk into Raj Bhavan". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 15 October 2018.