Government House & Banqueting Hall, British Era Madras, 1880 Photo
The first photo, taken in 1880, shows Government House and the Banqueting Hall. The second is from 1900, and it shows only Government House, partially hidden by trees. The Government House and Banqueting Hall were located at Mount Road in Madras (now Chennai). Around 1753, the East India Company acquired a garden house at Mount Road. Originally owned by a Portuguese merchant, to serve as a governor’s residence. Since life inside Fort St George was deemed unsuitable for prolonged stays.
Over the years, successive Governors expanded and transformed the site into a sprawling estate. This Government House remained the official residence of the Governor of Madras Presidency. After 1947, the Guindy Lodge or the Governor’s Country Residence at Guindy was made the Raj Bhavan.
The Raj Bhavan is where the Governor of Tamil Nadu resides. Today, though the original Government House, shown in the photo, no longer exists. The building was probably demolished at some point of time in the past.
Just north of the Government House stood an architectural landmark, the Banqueting Hall, commissioned not just as a space for grand functions but as a symbol of imperial triumph. Built between 1800 and 1802, the Hall was designed by John Goldingham. He was associated with the East India Company. It was under the directive of Edward Clive (Governor of Madras and son of Robert Clive). It was intended to host official balls, state dinners, and social functions.
The Banqueting Hall was renamed Rajaji Hall in honor of C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor-General of India. Today, the Hall stands as one of Chennai’s oldest surviving colonial structures. Click the first image to enlarge.
Did you know – the Banqueting Hall commemorated the British victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799).
