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| Restored Barrackpore House.telegraphindia.com |
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| Summer House of Barrackpore, thefridaytimes.com |
The Barrackpore House is a historical building in Barrackpore town (located 14 miles from Calcutta), West Bengal that had been widely used as a summer house after 1864 for a long time by Viceroys and Governors of Bengal; it was also a sort of country house on the week-ends for relaxation free from official commitments. During the heyday of the early colonial rule it was more or less a ''White'' town, more so than any other towns. The town was characteristic of parallel well-maintained roads with fine intersections, well-mowed lawns, rows of bungalows each built separately, and near-by Cantonment separated by water body branching off the river with a nice bridge over it, water front facing the river, park, etc. Particularly, the beautiful park was widely used for pleasure pursuits.
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| Gov. generals' house, Barrackpore, WB..indiatimes.com |
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| Summer House of Barrackpore 1807, puronokolkata.com |
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| Gov. Gen. Warren Hastings, Presidency of Calcutta. en.wikipedia.org |
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| Southern Façade of Govt House before restoration.thehindu.com |
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| Gov. Gen. of India Richard Wellesley, en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: First to discover Barrackpore a great place for peaceful living in style and was keen to build government palace amidst an English park., Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, KG, (20 June 1760 - 26 September 1842) was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator; 2nd Earl of Mornington. in 1799, he was granted the Irish peerage title of Marquess Wellesley. He served as the Governor-General of Bengal between 1798 and 1805, and later as Foreign Secretary in the British Cabinet and as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It was under his direction and command the invasion of Mysore was undertaken in February 1799 ; this campaign was yet another glorious chapter in British India history that saw the quick conclusion by the capture of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799 and the killing of Tipu Sultan, the ruler who had been a source of trouble for the land-hungry British company, Now, the coast was wide open in southern India for them to control the vast natural resources .......................
On 31st December, 1800, Wellesley advised Sir Alured Clark, the Commander-in-Chief, that his official residence was to be used by succeeding Governor Generals. He acquired 900 bighas to build a summer resort, much grandeur than the one in Calcutta (Kolkata) for the Governor general and Wellesley moved into the house temporary built when the construction was on. The estimated cost was whooping four lakhs of rupees. While the construction was going on, Wellesley's relationship with the company's board members was on the lowest ebb and in July 1805, when its structure had come up to the plinth level, Wellesley returned to England after resigning his post. The board thought the outlay of the project being under way was very large and found this project and others such as his Mysore campaign, Ft. William college project, etc were extravagant. Though his tenure in India was a scandalous one, Wellesley remained upright and untouched.
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| Barrackpore, West Bengal mapsofindia.com/ |
As for the big summer resort project and its design and plan, no details are available as time and vagaries of weather have taken away and buried them. The credit goes to warren Hastings who took upon himself the task of completing the small but simple house, built by Wellesley with fine relevant decorations such as those in front of the South entrance - the impressive lotus basin and the marble fountain specially from Agra. Besides, he converted the house into a cozy and comfortable residence for the Governor, his family members and some guests as well. Knowing that additions would spoil the beauty of this building no other major structural changes had been made except for some minor modifications and additions of certain features. Later Sir George Barlow (1805-1807) built small rooms at every corner of the southern verandah. Lord Hastings (1813-1823) added side wings, a Portico, and the upper Entrance Hall that was used later as a billiard room. These structural changes, however, ruined the prospect of its being a good summer residence. What needed was “a series of rooms which would catch the South breeze at night” – this was possible in the original three-room house.
Subsequent Governor Generals right from Hastings and others respected Wellesley's love for Barrackpore House and the park, and made minor additions to enhance it beauty and style. The balcony on the Western side; iron staircase on the South front, a wooden porch and electrification of the building were carried out respectively by Lord Auckland (1835 – 1842), Lord Lytton (1876-1880), Lord Ripon (1886-1884) and Lord Minto (1905-1910).
The central hall was once a venue for week-end balls and entertainments. The main central drawing room served for prayer and services before Barrackpore Church was built in 1847. Here, famous preacher Bishop Heber (who unfortunately died in Tiruchirappalli town, TN while on a visit) preached in 1823. Famous evangelists Carey, Marshman and Ward frequently visited Barrackpore House as guests of the Governor General.
So many historians are of the view that there was nothing remarkable about the Government House which is a plain one-story structure with large rooms and very ordinary furniture. Had Wellesley completed this building long before his final departure for England, the Barrackpore House in the park would have been one of the finest and stylish colonial buildings in Bengal. An interesting fact is Lady Canning 's passion for the park was so overwhelming that she loved this place very much. She designed an informal sitting place under the Grand Banyan Tree, which is estimated to be 350 years old, older than the Indian Botanical Garden. Besides, She even designed a balustraded terrace in the Barrackpore Park around the Lotus Fountain called the Lady Canning Terrace. She, after her demise, was buried in a part of the park. There is a museum in the Govt. House and here on display are British era arms and ammunition, old paintings of Barrackpore house, etc.
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