Old & New Lighthouses At Madras High Court, 1900 Postcard
Two 1900 postcards of the Madras High Court showing the old and the new Lighthouses. The old lighthouse is viewed on the far left of the High Court, its a 125-foot Doric column lighthouse. The new one is located on the central dome of the High Court building. Completed in 1844, it took about six years to construct. The Doric column lighthouse was completed in 1844. It took six years to complete and was designed by Capt. J E Smith.
This old Doric column lighthouse stands where the open Esplanade (ground) was once located. The Madras High Court later came up on the northern part of the Esplanade in 1894. Its main central dome functioned as the new lighthouse. It is believed that the parts of the old lighthouse’s lamp unit were removed and installed in the new lighthouse.
The Madras High Court is the third oldest in India; the high courts of Calcutta and Bombay are the oldest, respectively. Originally, the Madras courts were located at the First Line Beach. From 1817 to 1862, it was known as the Supreme Court, later remodeled into the High Court from 1862 onwards. By 1894, the High Court moved to this Indo-Saracenic building with its central domed lighthouse. Click image to enlarge.
Did you know – the first lighthouse in Madras operated in 1796 from the terrace of the officer’s mess in Fort St George.
