Evolution of Fort St.George 1939 (As Documented by Col.DM Reid) and Present Structure

Fort St.George Map 1939 Col.DM Reid

Post & Telegraphs: Special Cover 368th Madras Day Celebrations 22-08-2007

Wallajah Gate (Island Grounds) Fort St. George

Gate Used by Military Units at Fort St.George

North Gate Fort St. George

Bastions and Revelins of Fort St.George

At the Fort Museum, one can see maps and illustrations which documents the evolution of the fort and settlement over the centuries. Col. D.M.Reid (Douglas Muir Reid) prepared drawings of the fort with Madras volunteers. These drawings describe the evolution of this fort. He has also written a book title: 'The Story of Fort St. George.'

1687 -- Governor Elihu Yale erected the 45-m (148-ft) tall flagstaff to hoist the Union Jack for first time in India.  

1715 -- The Parade ground behind the Secretariat building was known as  Cornwallis Square.

1726 -- Marmalong Bridge, the first across the Adyar River. Built by the Armenian Coderjee Petrus Uscan.

1755 -- The Wallajah Bridge was constructed connecting the Wallajah Gate of the Fort to the Island. 

1825 -- Binny Bridge, named after John Binny, whose residence became the Imperial Hotel - now the Vivanta by Taj Connemara, also known as Commander-in-Chief’s Bridge, was constructed in Binny Road.

1829 -- Anderson Bridge, named after Dr. James Anderson, who had a botanic garden in the area once, was constructed across coovum and lies adjacent to Pantheon road signal. 

1840 -- Elphinstone Bridge constructed on River Adyar

1869 -- Napier Bridge,  which connects the entire stretch of the Marina with the Fort, was  constructed by Francis Napier, then Governor.  The Napier Bridge we know today, with its six bowstrings and ethereal lighting at night, was built in 1999.  

1910 -- A second floor over the wings and the magnificent Assembly Hall to the east with numerous black columns were added enhancing its facade.

1930 -- The low width North and South Sea Gates, which remain closed for a longer time, were estimated as too small and hence they were replaced with much wider structures.

1942 -- The small Centre Gate was not used for a longer duration and it was sealed with bricks. The closure also to protect the fort from threats posed by the Japanese.

When completed, Fort St. George was spread over 42 acres inside and over 60 acres outside the Fort Walls. The Fort had 3 principal gates, the “Sea Gate”, which has now been closed, the“Wallaja Gate” and “St. George Gate” apart from a few minor gates. The Gates were further strengthened by bastions, ravelins flanked by lunettes. A wet ditch was built all around the Fort as an added security measure.

Tamil Nadu State Government's Neo Classical Secretariat is visible to those who enter through Sea Gate

Fort St.George Borders:

• Western side border: the Wall Tax Road and the Buckingham Canal
• South side border: the North Fort Road on the eastern side and the General Hospital Road on the western side
• Northern side border:  Basin Bridge Road and Old Jail Road
• Eastern side border: the Rajaji Salai (First line beach road) and the Chennai Port
• All the four sides are additionally bordered by railway lines of the Chennai Beach—Chengalpattu and Chennai Central—Chennai Beach sections.

The streets (some of streets and monuments are seen even till date) were named in the 17th Century when the Fort was a residential settlement, `White Town'. All the main streets were parallel to the coast and developed around the core, `The Castle' (The Fort).

Streets  within Fort St.George:

Sl.No.	Name of the Street	Thumbnail of the Street
1	Church Street Location: Right side of the Fort House
2	North East Parade Street Location: Parade Grounds
3	Kings Barracks Location: CSD Canteen
4	Glouceter Street  Location: Fort Square
5	York Street Location: Fort Square
6	Middle Street        Location: Fort Square
7	Charles and James Street   Location: Clive House
8	St. Thomas Street Location: Near Church Street
9	Oultry Street Location: Near Parade Ground
10	Choultry Street Location: Parade Ground
11	Inner street Location: South West
12	Wallajah West Street  Location: South West
13	Saint George Curtain StreetLocation: St. Thomas Street
14	Inner George Gate Street Location: West
15	Inner North Gate Road   Location: York Street

Monuments within Fort St.George, Esplanade and George (Black) Town:

Sl.No.	Name of the Monument	Thumbnail of the Monument
1	“Tamil Nadu State Government Secretariat (British East India Company Fort House)” . Location: Central Building
2	“Elihu Yale’s home” . Location: St.Thomas Street
3	St. Mary’s Church with tablets laid on the ground and enclosed by a compound and a buried wall  Location: Church Street
4	Clive’s house built in 1753  Location: Charles and James Street
5	“Arsenal” between Wellesley house and Clive’s House with shells and cannons piled together near the Gateway Block IV/1-12 and 14-18. (Wikimedia Commons) It was designed by Colonel Patrick Ross and is presently being used by the military as their supply depot.  Location: Charles and James Street
6	Wellesley house (Built in 1798), Block No. IV/13         Location: Charles and James Street
7	Big Warehouse, south of the Church Library (in Block No. II/7). It is situated right opposite the Last House on Snob’s Alley and is in a complete state of disrepair with half of the roof structure having caved in. (Wikimedia Commons) Location: St. Thomas Street
8	Chaplain’s house including portion which is the northern side of the old Wall II/1. (Wikimedia Commons) Location: St. Thomas Street
9	Garrison Engineer’s Depot, Block No. IV It is located opposite the Fort police station which is now in military use.  Location: Charles and James Street
10	Guard room Block No. V	Fort St. George, Chennai-9
11	King’s Barracks Block No. XXV  Location: Kings Barracks now Area CSD (Defence) canteen
12	Last house on the left of ‘Snobs Allay’ (Oldest house in the Fort with carved staircase) – Block No. I/1 It is now completely ruined with little trace left of its presence and is presently being restored by the ASI. (Courtesy: The sorry state of Fort St George Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music March 5, 2014 ) Location: St. Thomas Street
13	Nursing Sister’s House (Block No. I/3) Located in a building to the north of the Last house and is in good condition. It is currently being used as residence by some of the church staff and nuns from St. Mary’s Church. Location: St. Thomas Street
14	Old British Infantry Officer’s Mess (now housing the Fort Museum) Block XXXVI/2   Location: York Street
15	Ramparts, gates, bastions, Ravelins with vaulted chambers and water cisterns underneath; moat and defence walls all round with glacis to the extent of the existing barbed wire fence
16	Tomb of David Yale and Joseph Hymners in the compound of Law College, George Town The proposed alignment and Chennai Metro Rail Station comes within 300 meters of the Tomb of David Yale and Joseph Hymners located inside Dr. Ambedkar Law College campus.
17	Old town Wall	Tondiarpet, Chennai

Reference

1.  Bridges of Madras - The concrete connect. Anusha Parthasarathy The Hindu Chennai April 16, 2013
2. Exploring the Fort St. George: A neglected heritage complex by Anand Lakshmipathi Transparent Chennai April 1, 2013 
3. List of Centrally Protected Monuments - State-wise, Tamil Nadu, Archaeological Survey of India Chennai Circle
4. The sorry state of Fort St George Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music March 5, 2014 

Evolution of Fort St.George 1862 (As Documented by Col.DM Reid)

Map of Fort St.George 1862 by Col DM Reid

Plan de Madras, ou fort Saint-George. 1779. source : http://gallica.bnf.fr

Madras in 1755. Based on "A Plan of Fort St. George and The Bounds
of Madraspatnam" by F. L. Conradi.

Popham's Broadway (Courtesy: Vintage Vignettes).

First Esplanade

Second Esplanade

Fort Museum I Floor Painting

People's Park George Town Madras

At the Fort Museum, one can see maps and illustrations which documents the evolution of the fort and settlement over the centuries. Col. D.M.Reid (Douglas Muir Reid) prepared drawings of the fort with Madras volunteers. These drawings describe the evolution of this fort. He has also written a book title: 'The Story of Fort St. George.'

Stephen Popham

1778 -- Stephen Popham, a British politician and solicitor, came to India and was employed in Calcutta as Secretary to Sir John Day, the Advocate-General of Bengal. In 1778, Day  visited Madras along with Popham. Popham got separated from Day, due to some misunderstanding and heated arguement between them, and stayed in Madras and lived there from 1778 till his death in 1795.

 
The British settlement in Madras was bifurcated into White Town, comprising the fort and the English buildings within it, and Black Town to the north, the native quarter where also lived the merchants of various races, including Jews and Armenians, who had come to Madras to trade. The city's total population was already around 300,000.

Black Town, which included included Muthialpettah and Peddunaickenpettah, was a mess: although dotted with the villas of merchants and company people who could not get quarters in White Town, it was marshy, squalid, and without proper drainage or streets. A drainage channel running between these two pettahs was known as Attapallam (Aallapallam meaning deep ditch).

1780 -- Since August 1780 Popham started living in Black Town and managed to possess a strip of evil-smelling coastal bog more than a mile long. Stephen Popham's first objective was to improve the amenities of the Black Town and for which he  negotiated with the government.

1781 -- The area where the General Hospital, Madras United Club and the Park Town post office stand today, was then a hill called Hoggs Hill by the British and Narimedu (mound of foxes) in Tamil. This natural mound formed as a security threat to Fort St.George. It was Popham who negotiated with the British government in Madras and the mound was levelled after removing excess earth.

1782 -- On January 12, 1782, he submitted "Popham's Plan" to the authorities: "There are no regular Drains to carry off Water, or any well, Sewer, or other provision made to carry off the Ordure, of each House." So he recommended the construction of direct and cross drains in every street. Accordingly the Attapallam and other drains were deepened and a road from north to south along with the Attapallam drainage was laid and this main thoroughfare was known as Pophams Broadway. The Popham's Broadway (present name Prakasam Road) was later called as simply Broadway. 

He also submitted a plan for the establishment of a regular police force for Madras.  A Board of Police assisted by a Kotwal was subsequently formed. The Kotwal was to be the officer of the markets under the Superintendent of Police.

The Britisher also advocated measures for the naming of streets, provision for street lighting, for the proper registration of births and deaths and for the licensing of liquor, arrack and toddy shops.

The 19th Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army created in 1781 for service in British India. The 19th Light Dragoons regiment arrived at Fort St. George, Madras and became the first British cavalry regiment to serve in India. The 19th Light Dragoons played a major role in the Anglo-Mysore Wars, Anglo-Maratha Wars and the campaign against Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

1783 -- The Fort was very much as it is today. The three-storied structure, housed the Governor's residence in the uppermost floor, with rooms for the Council in the lower ones. A detached gallery of rooms was constructed, enclosing the central building into what was known as the Fort Square.

1785 -- From 1774 until 1858, Madras was a part of British India and was ruled by the British East India Company.

Under the provisions of Pitt's India Act (passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in September 1774 to unify and regulate the administration of the territories of the East India Company), Madras became one of three provinces established by the East India Company. Thereafter, the head of the area was styled "Governor" rather than "President" and became subordinate to the Governor-General in Calcutta, a title that would persist until 1947. Judicial, legislative and executive powers rested with the Governor who was assisted by a Council.

Fort Museum (Public Exchange House)

1795 -- Fort Public Exchange established and the Exchange building was built within the Fort by Free Merchants. The construction of the two storeyed Wellesley House was completed in 1795 and the office of the Madras Bank was first housed here. The hall at the first floor functioned as the venue for public meetings and lottery drawing. It also served as the British Infantry Officers’ Mess. It was later converted to Fort Museum in 1948. The museum displays objects dating back to British colonial era including ammunitions, coins, medals, uniforms, portraits of the various Governors of Madras, original letters of Clive and Cornwallis and some artifacts from Britain, France and India. There is also a 14.5 ft tall  marble statue of Cornwallis.

The Fort was now self-sufficient. During this phase, the walls too were strengthened. The western front was completely altered. To extend the western side, the course of the Elambore River was diverted by filling the riverbed and the fort turned from square into pentagon shape. A wet ditch or moat was then dug around the main curtain wall and around each of the ravelins and lunettes.

1800 -- Government of England established the Supreme Court of Madras on December 26, 1800.

1825 -- However no further additions were made until 1825, when wings appeared on either side of the western portion of the building overlooking the Parade Square behind.

Boundary First Esplanade

1859 -- People's Park (located near the present Nehru stadium) was developed on the southern part of Second Esplanade and the northern part became the Salt Cotaurs. 

The people's Park, the brain child of Sir Charles Trevelyan, was opened to public 1859. It measures about 116 acres in size. Part of this park: Madras zoo (1863 - 1985), Victoria Public Hall (1887), Moore Market (1898), South Indian Athletic Association (1902).  It had 11 ponds, 5 ½ miles of road and walkways, a bandstand, a public path and two tennis courts. 

1861 -- Government of England passed an Act  on August 6, 1861, which empowered the Queen of England to erect and establish the High Court of judicature at Madras.

Madras High Court 1905

1862 -- The Madras High Court was built in 1862 and it stands as the second largest judicial complex in the world. The new High Court was formally opened on Friday, August 15, 1862, shortly after noon. The Gazette of Fort St.George dated August 19, 1862 notified the establishment of High Court for the presidency of Madras.




Reference

1. A 150-year history The Hindu September 10, 2012
2. Broadway, a narrow way S Muthiah The Hindu Chennai March 06, 2000
3. History behind the broadway. India Today February 8, 2008 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/History+behind+the+broadway/1/4385.html
4. Popham the Improver http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/popham-the-improver-1163210.html‎
5. Stephen Popham (Wikipedia)
6. The mystery of a second esplanade The Hindu Chennai, April 14, 2014