Hornby Vellard & Worli From Cumballa Hill Bombay, 1870 Photo

The curved Hornby Vellard Causeway can be seen linking from the side of a dwelling in Breach Candy to Worli hillock seen at a far distance. The strips of narrow land, shown on the left, likely connects to Haji Ali (not pictured).

Bombay was once an archipelago of seven islands, many of which were vulnerable to tidal flooding. Points where seawater regularly surged inland were known as breaches. Of the seven islands, only four stood on relatively higher ground, remaining above sea level during high tides.

The most significant breaches lay between Sion and Dharavi, Dharavi and Mahim, and Mahim and Worli. The largest and most formidable of these was the Great Breach, located between Malabar Hill and Worli. While several breaches were sealed by 1712, the Great Breach posed a unique engineering challenge, as the water channel was nearly 60 feet deep.

Efforts to close this major inlet continued for decades. The breakthrough occurred in 1780 under the leadership of William Hornby, the then-Governor of Bombay. After multiple failed attempts, a massive embankment, known as a vellard, was successfully constructed across the opening. This structure was named the Hornby Vellard in recognition of Hornby’s role in the project.

A causeway built over the vellard enabled movement across the reclaimed land, a feature clearly visible in the photograph. With the sealing of the major breaches, Bombay’s ambitious land reclamation projects gathered momentum. The unification of the seven islands through systematic reclamation was completed between 1830 and 1850. Laying the foundation for the modern city of Mumbai. Click image to enlarge.