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Britain's
First Bastion in India, the nucleus from which an empire
grew, was established in a banana grove owned by a farmer
called Madrasan. The offcial grant for the land, however,
was given by venkatadri Nayak, the deputy of the raja
of Chandragiri. The first factory within the fortified
enclosure was completed on St George's Day, 23 April,
1640, and named Fort St George. This was the East India
Company's
Principal settlement until 1774, when Calcutta, now Kolkata,
was declared the seat of the government.
The Sloping ramparts, with battlements for gun emplacement that
can still be seen today, were designed and constructed by Bartholomew
Robins in 1750, after the original walls were destroyed by the
French army in 1749. These ramparts form an irregular pentagon,
further reinforced by a ring of earthen walls that slope down
to a moat surrounding the entire complex. The draw bridges that
once led to the Fort's five main gates have now been replaced
by roads.
The first building to be seen on entering the Fort through the
sea Gate is the Neo Classical Secretariat, which is today the
seat of the Government of Tamilnadu. Behind it lies the Legislative
Council Chambers. With their handsome Classical Secretiat, which
is today the seat of the Government of Tamilnadu. Behind it lies
the Legislative Council Chambers. With their handsome Classical
lines and facades embelished with gleaming black pillars, these
impressive buildings, built between 1694 and 1732, are said to
be among the oldest surviving British Constructions in India.
The 45-m (148-ft) tall flagstaff was erected by Governor Elihu
Yale in 1687 to hoist the Union Jack for first time in India.
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Yale
began his career as a clerk with the East India Company
and later
founded Yale University in the USA. Standing to the South
of the Legislature building is St mary's Church, the oldest
Anglican Church in Asia. It was built between 1678 nad
1680 by Streynsham Master, then the Governor of Madras.
Tombstones, memorials, registers and paintings, antique
Bibles and Silver are displayed in the Church, which speak
of its vibrant history. Both Elihu yale and Robert Clive
were Married in this Church, and the three daughters of
Job Charnock were baptized here before the family moved
to Bengal. Arthur Wellesley, who later became the Duke
of Wellington and triumphed at Waterloo, and Robert Clive,
both lived in Fort St George. Their Residences, Wellesley
House and Clive House, still stand, albeit in a somewhat
dilapidated condition, across from the church.
To the north is the Parade ground, formerly Cornwallis Square,
which was laid out in 1715. Magnificent parades and rallies were
held here. To its east are ministerial offices, and barracks for
regiments. Near the southeast corner of the parade ground is the
Fort Museum, built in the 1780s. A treasure trove of Colonial memorabilia,
the Museum is housed in what was built to be the Public Exchange.
It has Paintings of British royalty, 18th -century weaponry, emblems
and other relics from the British era. Among its prized possessions
are a scale model of the Fort and a painting of king George III
and Queen Charlotte. There are lithographs on the second and third
floors that provide fascinating perpectives of old Madras and other
parts of South India.
Near the Museum's Southern end, and overlook in its cannon is the
cornwallis Cupola, which originally stood in the Parade Ground.
The Statue of the governor general, lord Cornwallis sculpted in
1800, shows him accepting the two young sons of Tipu Sultan as
Hostages. |
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