fort st. george, chennai - from where madras began.

Chennai has many parts of it which are much older than the city itself, but its origin as a city begins in 1639. A certain Francis Day of the English East India Company along with his superior Andrew Cogan, and dubash (interpreter) Beri Thimmappa , negotiated a deal with the nayak rulers of the region and purchased a small piece of land close to the sea on august 22nd 1639 - and hence the day is celebrated as Madras Day by lovers of the city.

The plan was to establish a trading settlement at this location, which was closer to weaving centres and cotton cloth cost less to obtain. Almost a year later, the earliest construction on the piece land was dedicated on april 23rd 1640, and was named Fort St. George - because april 23rd was the feast day of st. george's, the patron saint of england.

Fort st.george was the first fortified settlement of the british in india, and it was from there that the city expanded. its interesting history also includes being captured by the french, recaptured by the british, and now, serving as home and headquarters to the tamilnadu government, its state legislature.

the plan and structures of the fort have changed several times over its existence, a lot has been lost and a lot is inaccessible, but there is still much to be seen. it began as a small square enclosure with four corner bastions orginially and grew to its present shape in the late 1700s. it does not have very high ramparts like many other historic forts do, but covers a large expanse of area. it faces the bay of bengal on its east, and in its early days, the sea was apparently so close that the waters would lap up on the fort's walls. today, outside the fort wall and moat is the wide rajaji salai (beach road), beyond it the parking lot for the vehicles visiting the fort, and then the sandy stretch of the beach before you can get to the sea. the roads and parking today are all on reclaimed land.

there are two entrances to the fort from rajaji salai, and on either side of these, the moat can still be seen. the moat was originally meant as a dry ditch, and later in the 1700s filled with water from the cooum river or the buckingham canal. both these water bodies in the city have been reduced to open sewers, and moat has been made dry again. at least it seems cleaned up as of now.

the moat outside the fort wall

the most imposing and prominent structure immediately on entering the fort is the state assembly building, with its black granite pillars, and the tall flag mast towering at 148 feet. the original teak wood mast at the site stood from 1688 until the mid 1990s when it was replaced by the present steel one.

turning right, one can see the cornwallis cupola, the pillared and domed structure which used to house the statue of lord cornwallis. the statue was made to commemorate his victory over tipu sultan in 1792 when he was the governor-general of india. the cupola originally stood in the parade square further inside the fort, and had the staue installed under it in 1800. the statue was later moved out of it and after some peregrinations here and there, is now inside the fort museum. the cupola itself was moved out of parade square to its present location opposite the fort museum in the 1930s.

the cornwallis cupola

walking further, right behind the state assembly building is the parade ground - it has barracks on three sides (and the rear of the assembly building on the fourth) and is now cordoned off. it had long been used for parades and other ceremonial occasions, and at least some buildings of the barracks around it built in the 1700s still exist, though it seems to be in poor shape.

the parade ground

the barracks on one side of the parade ground

to the left, or south of the parade ground, are some of the most interesting spots in the fort. there is st.mary's church, the oldest anglican church to be built east of the suez, and the oldest surviving british building in india. construction was completed in 1680 and was funded entirely by the residents of the fort. it was one of the earliest structures designed to withstand cannon fire. the first wedding solemnized in the church was that of elihu yale, who was the governor of fort st george, and in honour of whose donation the yale university in connecticut was later named. later in the 1700s, the wedding of robert clive, the controversial commander in chief of british india, also took place in st.mary's church.

the st mary's church

the street behind st.mary's church, east of it, was known as st. thomas street or snob's alley. this was (and is) the easternmost street, closest to the fort wall, with a view of the sea. the street housed an infirmary or hospital in the 1600s, likely because of the proximity to sunshine and seabreeze. it was a coveted location and one of the most important streets in the fort then, and high ranking officials lived there, which could have given rise to the nickname snob's alley. its present condition of course leaves a lot to be desired. the street also at one point had the town hall, where the corporation of madras was born in 1688 - making it the second oldest civic body in the world, after that of london.

st thomas street, or snobs alley, in fort st george.

the fort definitely has a lot of interesting structures from its chequered history over time, and i'll post a few more pics in another installment.

please note : the fort is the headquarters of the tamil nadu government, and houses its state assembly and offices of ministers and bureaucrats. many parts are also under the control of the army or navy. visitors to the fort are allowed, but the most accessible areas are the fort museum and the church. for the rest of the areas, please follow directions from the authorities. the photos posted here were taken during an organised heritage walk of the fort, so not all the areas above may be accessible to the public on any given day.