Five Street Scenes Of British Era Madras, 5 Postcards 1900

Five old 1900 postcards of different street scenes of British-era Madras (now Chennai). We already know that Madras was once a fishing village. That in 1638 the East India Company, sent Francis Day to the village to select a better site for their headquarters. In 1639 Francis Day purchased from the Raja of Chandragiri a tract of land five miles long near the Portuguese settlement of St Thome.

There he made a British settlement and a fort, naming it Fort St George. St George was the patron saint of England. Europeans who were settled inside the protected walls of Fort St George slowly moved out. After the conflicts with foreign and local powers greatly diminished by the 1800s. Mercantile and commercial businesses moved out to First Line Beach and Mount Road.

Since then, progressed into a vast city. And became one of the three British-era Presidencies. The other two were Calcutta and Bombay Presidencies. Residential areas were developed off Mount Road, Royapettah, Triplicane, Nungambakkam, Adyar, etc. Thus streets were an inevitable part of these localities. Like the ones shown in this British era Madras’ street scene postcards. Click on the photo for better view.

Did you know – Pycroft’s Road shown in this postcard was once the residence of Britisher Sir Thomas Pycroft. A civil servant working at Fort St George in 1846. Pycroft’s Road is now known as Bharati Salai.

From the collection – Vintage Raja Ravi Varma “Shivaji” Oleograph Print., Chinese Winged Cannon Raj Bhavan Kolkata, Photo 1910., Prince of Wales George V Tour of India, Old Print 1906., The City Of Old Delhi Map 1877.