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| Restored Hamilton Police Club. Coimbatore city. thenewsminute.com |
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| before restoration Colonial Bungalow, Coimbatore city,TN thehindu.com |
Though we are fortunate to have tens of thousands of monuments, historical, colonial buildings etc across our land, it is a sad story that a large number of them are being either poorly maintained or just ignored by the authorities. The surprising information we get in the media is that countless heritage bungalows, buildings, etc., remain unclassified and unnoticed, and consequently, they are slowly crumbling and falling apart One such a colonial bungalow with a well on a land measuring 3,488 sq ft). was facing the danger of falling apart beyond redemption in the prime area of Coimbatore city, Tamil Nadu. It is an important hub of many manufacturing industries and is the second largest city in the state next to Chennai (then Madras). At last a couple of years ago, the colonial Bungalow was restored to old grandeur after a long struggle for more than a decade or so.by the heritage and history lovers . For a pretty long period the Hamilton Club had remained one of the many old buildings in ruins and the residents would go past them as if their past history was of no concern to them. At this juncture, the residents of Coimbatore owe a debt of gratitude to the former Commissioner of Police (CoP), Coimbatore City, Sri A Amalraj who understood the value of such a heritage site and its link with the colonial history of the city. He, with great interest, took the initiative.
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| name board Hamilton police club,Coimbatore.simplicity.in |
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According to J Barnabas, General Secretary of the Salem Historical Society, the colonial structure that became a
Police Club called Hamilton club was a major landmark in this city those days; the present railway station one close to this site. did not exist. Located on the busy State Bank Road or Railway Station Road, the colonial style bungalow was once owned by an Englishman by the name of F.A. Hamilton, who served in the Indian Police department in the colonial period. The building being in a sad state, was an eye-sore to the passers-by. The old building was hardly visible from a distance because it was hidden behind densely grown trees and commercial shops.
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| Coimbatore city,Tamil Nadu. location map. weather-forecast.com |
Records mention that the Police officer Hamilton bought it for Rs 20,000 in 1918 and he paid the amount by banker's cheque dated 26 January 1918 drawn on Madras Bank; it is indeed a big sum in those days. It was later converted in to an Officer's Club where police officers up to the rank of Sub-Inspectors used to stay. Part of the building, for sometime was being used by the police personnel belonging to the Tamil Nadu State service. The unique feature of the bungalow is its high ceiling more than 12 feet to avoid heat radiation. with good ventilation, madras terrace and one meter thick walls. This type of structure would always keep the interior cool in the hot summer period. There are six spacious rooms plus additional space for a badminton court,, a good library and kitchen. Recently discovered were many documents and British law books. In 1898, the Tothenham block with its tiled roof and six rooms were renovated. It was on August 14, 1951, the Harvey block was created with eight rooms each on the ground and first floor. The source of income for the Club is presently from the shops in the deluxe block (made of concrete). It is said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) became the President of the club.
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Damaged ceiling Hamilton club. Coimbatore. simplicity.in
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Hamilton police club bldg, Coimbatore. simplicity.in
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Hamilton club, Coimbatore, simplicity..in
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Above images: Hamilton Police Club, Coimbatore city, Tamil Nadu state. pictures show the colonial-style bungalow before restoration. Damaged walls and ceiling; wooden rafters in many parts were highly damaged.
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The total restoration cost was more than Rs 2.5 crores, much of it was borne by the society. Initially
a sum of Rs.25 was provided from the Club's funds by the police dept. under PC Amalraj toward restoration work on the 153 year old colonial building and the work was carried out by a team from Chennai including senior archaeologists and conservationists who used the same construction materials as were used in the by-gone age. In May 2018 in a part of the building a police museum was opened and on display are the old police uniforms, firearm weapons, historical photos, medals, cups, etc., won by the police. riot control equipment, nightsticks, restraints, investigative devices, vintage communication equipment, a communications center, and a variety of other cultural and technological displays dating back to the late 1800’s. The other interesting items were big hallow kakhi half pants, the high mount topis, thick leather boots and stockings used by the police before the 1950s. Also included are military tanks, rifles, two Cannons (kept in the front lawn) , one of which was used and partly damaged in the Carnatic war with the British Crown emblem. Indian Army’s T55 battle tank used in the Kargil war, two SAM missiles and a torpedo used by the Indian Navy,
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.Hamilton police club, Coimbatore, TN simplicity.in
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Among the items in the museum was an important display of confiscated materials, two fake currency printing machines seized during sensational investigation and arrest of ( Kovai) Krishnan and associates in Coimbatore in 1959. The CBCID's crackdown on the criminals went down in the history of Tamil Nadu Police and took the state by surprise. Even in the present times, old timers like me vividly remember those days; then Coimbatore town became synonymous with fake bills. This
case of Kovai Krishnan counterfeit bank bills rattled the country and discussed in the Delhi parliament. Krishnan carefully produced Rs.100 bank notes that were in the circulation.
The municipal records mention that the present railway station road was one known as the Imperial Bank Road in the past. It was in the year 1928 the Hamilton Club (previously known as the Police Club) was given a co-operative society status and also an identification number K547. The records further mentioned the names of many governing members of the Club and prominent among them were R.K. Shanmugam Chettiar KCIE (17 October 1892 – 5 May 1953), an Indian lawyer, economist and politician.. Formerly Diwan of Cochin kingdom from 1935 to 1941, he served as the Union Finance Minister from 1947 to 1949, Khan Bahadur alias M. Aminuddin Sahib Bahadur, Uthukuli Zamin, Uthukuli Chinna Zamin, Samathur Zamin and a host of other prominent people.
Regardless of cost constraints, the private trusts, philanthropists and corporates come out on their own and cooperate with the government to bring back to old grandeur countless colonial buildings, farm houses, etc., that are slowly disappearing for various reasons. This will positively help the next generation of people know our past history and the style of living.
