Officers’ Mess House In Fort St George Madras, 1880 Photo
This rare 1880 photo of the Officers’ Mess House inside Fort St George in Madras (now Chennai). It provides one of the earliest inside views of the historic British fortress. Fort St George, built in 1644, was the first British fortress in India and a key stronghold of the East India Company. The Officers’ Mess building stood facing the Marina Beach and the Bay of Bengal. On the right of the image, the massive defensive walls of the Fort can be seen. While in the distance, a partial view of the tall Madras Lighthouse is visible.
The lighthouse, located next to where the Madras High Court was later constructed in 1892. Interestingly, the site of the Officers’ Mess was earlier occupied by a house that was demolished between 1787 and 1790. And made way for a new commercial hub known as the Exchange Building. The Exchange served as a bustling center, featuring a coffee house and tavern on the ground floor, and a warehouse, bank, and offices on the upper floor.
The bank, originally established in 1683, was known variously as the Government Bank and Madras Bank before becoming the Bank of Madras. A predecessor of the Imperial Bank of India and eventually the State Bank of India. By 1800, the East India Company shifted merchants from Fort St. George to the designated mercantile center at First Line Beach. And repurposed the Exchange as an administrative office until 1861. Afterward, it was converted into the Officers’ Mess for the British Regiment stationed in the Fort. Since India’s independence in 1947, this historic building has been preserved and today forms part of the Fort Museum. It showcases artifacts of colonial Madras. Click photo to enlarge.
See pictures of Old & new Chennai.
Did you know – the ‘Imperial Bank of India’ went on to become the ‘State Bank of India’ after India’s independence.
From the collection – Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph 1894
