Officer’s Mess House Inside Fort St George Madras, 1870 Photo
A 1880 photograph of the officer’s mess house inside Fort St George in the colonial era in Madras (Chennai). This is one of the rare photos with an inside view of Fort St George, the first British fortress in India. The mess building is located in the front, facing the Marina Beach. A partial view of the Madras Light House’s tall tower can be seen at a distance.
This lighthouse is located adjacent to the yet-to-come-up Madras High Court building at the time. The High Court came into being only in 1892. The location of the officer’s mess house was where a house formerly stood. The house was pulled down, and in its place, a commercial building was constructed between 1787 and 1790, and it was called the Exchange. The commercial complex’s ground floor had a coffeehouse and a tavern. The first floor had a warehouse, a bank, and so on.
Originally established in 1683, the bank was known at various times as the Government Bank and the Madras Bank, and is regarded as the predecessor of the Bank of Madras. The Bank of Madras later became part of the Imperial Bank of India, which, after India’s independence, was transformed into the State Bank of India. By 1800, the East India Company decided it wanted the merchants and all businesses out of the Fort. It used the building as an office until 1861. Consequently, it became the officers’ mess of the British Regiment stationed in the Fort. Since 1948, it has been a national museum. Click image to enlarge.
See pictures of Old & new Chennai.
Did you know – Fort St George, founded in 1644, was the first major English fortress in India and became the administrative centre of the Madras Presidency.
