CHENNAI COLONIAL ARCHITECTUREMADRASFathima Samana S

HISTORY Colonial architecture in Chennai represents a synthesis of Islamic designs and Indian materials developed by British architects during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The hybrid, combined diverse architectural elements of Hindu and Mughal.

The following are the principal Characteristics of Buildings

Onion (Bulbous) DomesOverhanging Eaves Pointed Arches, Cusped Arches, or Scalloped Arches Vaulted RoofsDomed Kiosks Many Miniature Domes, or Domed Chatris Towers or Minarets Harem Windows Open PavillionsPierced Open Arcading

The leading Architects of colonial architecture in Chennai were

Robert Fellowes Chisholm Charles Mant Henry Irwin William Emerson George Wittet Frederick W. Stevens

List of prominent colonial style buildings in Chennai City

1. G.P.O. Building2. State Bank of INDIA3. Metropolitan Mag. Courts4. High Court5. YMCA6. LAW College7. Madras University (library)8. Senate House9. Chepauk Palace & Tower10. PWD Buildings11. Oriental Research Institute12. Victoria Hostel13. Bharat Insurance Building14. Agurchand Mansion15. Poomphukar Showroom16. College of Engineering17. Boat Club Old MowbraysClub18. Metropolitan Mag. Court19. Museum & ConnemaraLibrary20. Egmore Railway Station21. Veterinary College22. State Archives Building23. National Art Gallery24. College Of Arts & Crafts25. St. Georges (School) Chapel26. Southem Railway Offices27. MMC Anatomy Block

St. GEORGE FORT.Fort St George (or historically, White Town) is the name of the first English (later British) fortress in India, founded in 1644.The first factory within the fortified enclosure was completed on St George's Day, 23 April, 1640, and named Fort St George

The Fort is a stronghold with six-meter high walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century.

The Fort now serves as the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state

The first building to be seen on entering the Fort through the sea Gate is the Neo Classical Secretariat

Behind it lies the Legislative Council Chambers

The 45-m (148-ft) tall flagstaff was erected by Governor Elihu Yale in 1687 to hoist the Union Jack for first time in IndiaStanding to the South of the Legislature building is St mary's Church, the oldest Anglican Church in Asia.To the north is the Parade ground, formerly Cornwallis Square, which was laid out in 1715To 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

Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington and triumphed at Waterloo, 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

The Fort initially took about 14 years to build and was designed as a squarish structure with canons in the corners

Towns evolved around the fort a white town within the town and the Indian or Black Town outside its walls

The French destroyed part of Black Town for security reasons. Battle of the Adyar River between the French and the Nawab's troops, the French won and occupied Santhome

Old Fort House was replaced by a new one that still remains at the core of the present Secretariat

THE FINAL STAGE OF THE FORT WHICH STILL REMAINS UNALTERTED.

St. Georges Cathedral

The Church was opened in 1815 AD. The British East India Company's Senior Engineer Col. J. L. Caldwell designed the churchThe site with an advantageous location was called the Choultry Plain.The architecture is remarkable for its tall spire, pillars, marble statues, mural tablets and memorials inside.The Directors of the British East India Company presented the turret clock to the Trustees in 1828. The turret clock was set up on the three faces of the Church steeple, which is 139 feet (42m) high

The Altar of the Cathedral is majestic. The reredos is a depiction of the ascension of Lord Jesus Christ sculpted in alabaster, at the top of which stands a black marble statue of St George

The chancel was later lengthened with a ten foot radius semicircular apse. The Vestry and the Lady chapel were also added later In 1884, the Trustees replaced the plaster roof of the nave by one of teak and patterned it with papier-mch On either side of the altar in vibrant colours are two panels describing two important events in the life of Jesus in glass paintings. There are stained glass panels on top of all the doors of the Cathedral. Sunlight filters through these shining examples of medieval art, leaving the entire Cathedral bathed in rich, warm hues.

Great museum & Library

Galleries of the Museum Main Building (New Extension Building) GalleriesArchaeologyZoologyBotanyGeologyNumismaticsFront BuildingAnthropologyArchaeologyBronze GalleryArchaeologyNumismaticsChemical ConservationChildren's MuseumNational Art Gallery

Designed by H.Irvin, the then consulting Architect to the Government of Madras, the Connemara Public Library was constructed as a semi-circle end oblong building

The roof is truncated semi-circle. The truncated top has a wooden ceiling. But the two curved sides are made of colored glass pieces artistically cemented to one another

Ornamental acanthus leaves and flowers adorn the pillars, windows and bookshelves

flooring is done with marble slabs brought from Krishna District (Andhra Pradesh) through the Buckingham canal, in boats

It had about 20,080 feet of shelving space and about 27,000 sq.feet of floor space, it accommodates about 2, 50,000 volumes on its shelves.To cope up with the increasing stock, a three-storied building with 71,700 sq.ft. was constructed in 1973.Further to accommodate the increased stock of books another three-storied building with 21,823 sq.ft. was added in 1999.

GENERAL POST OFFICE.

Senate House - Madras University

Egmore raiway station.

The station was apparently constructed from 1906, and was officially opened on June 11, 1908. It was built by T. Samynada Pillai at a cost of INR 1.7 millionHenry Irwin, who did much of latter day Indo-Saracenic in Madras, and E.C. Bird, an architect, worked on the design of the Egmore building, which was sympathetically added to in the 1930s and 1980s.Structure :Standard on-ground stationPlatforms : 11Tracks :15Accessible :Handicapped/disabled access

Madras High Court

High Court was established on June 26, 1892 under the guidance of the famed architect Henry IrwinIt is believed to be one of the second largest judicial buildings in the world.This complex houses the High Court, the small Causes Court and the City Civil Court. It is considered to be one of the three High Courts of india

Red sand stone construction, Ornamental decorations on the walls, stained glass windows and minarets add beauty to this building. The compound has a pyramid shape tomb, which belongs to the only son of Elihu Yale,. A fine example is Court No 13, which has stained glass, fretted wood work, carved furniture, silvered panels and a painted ceiling