Click on the photo for better view
St Paul’s Cathedral Calcutta – Old Photo
Old 1865 photograph of St Paul’s Cathedral In British era Calcutta, now Kolkata. Shown is the St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bishop’s house at the back. Both are notable Indo-Gothic-style architectural landmarks of Kolkata. The foreground shows a beautiful stream or wetland with people fishing or sitting around. Calcutta was until 1911 the capital of British India.
The decision in 1911 to move the capital to Delhi was to give a new base for colonial rule. Delhi had been the capital of many rulers, including the Mughals. They moved the capital to Delhi from Agra in the middle of the 17th century. Kolkata was originally three small villages on the bank of the River Hoogly. By the 19th century, it became the second-largest city in the British Empire and a center of commerce and finance. Because of the robust business atmosphere, fine and magnificent buildings sprouted. Many of them still stand today majestically.
See also my post- Calcutta Horse-Drawn Tram – Old Photo 1880.
Out of which is this St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bishop’s house. Designed in the Indo-Gothic style by William Forbes who was also responsible for the design of the Calcutta Mint. The construction began in 1839 and was completed by 1847. The steeple on the square vertical tower shown in the picture was devastated by an earthquake in 1934. So much that only the vertical square tower stands today.
Read more- Churches & Synagogues of Colonial.
Did you know- the British East India Company set up a settlement in Madras, now Chennai in 1639. In 1686 on exploration further north they discovered the three villages where Kolkata would be established.
From the collection- 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#15)., Victoria Carriage In Bombay – Old Postcard 1940., Colaba Point Lighthouse In Mumbai – Old Print 1868., Antique Map of Salsette Bombay 1893
