.gif)
St. Mary's Church (Fort St. George)
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's Church located at Fort St George
, is the oldest Anglican church East of Suez
and also the oldest British building in India. The church is popularly known as the 'Westminster Abbey of the East'.
was appointed the English East India Company's Agent at Madras, religious services were conducted in the dining-room of the Factory House. It was at Master's initiative, and without the sanction of the Directors of the Company, that a subscription was started for the construction of the church.
The sum collected amounted to 805 pagoda
s with the Governor and other officers contributing. Construction was started on 25 March, 1678 - Lady Day
, whereby the church acquired its name. The church was rendered the only bomb-proof building at the time, in the Fort, on account of a peculiarly designed roof, details of which are provided under Architecture
.
Construction was completed in the course of two years and the church was consecrated on the 28th of October, 1680 by the chaplain Rev. Richard Portman
. The ceremony was marked by the firing of small arms and cannon by the fort's garrison.
On account of its peculiar roof-structure, the church was used as a barrack and granary between December, 1758 and January, 1759 during the Second Carnatic War, when the French
besieged Madras and again when Hyder Ali
invaded the town in the late 18th century.
The building consists of a nave and two aisles, with the nave protruding about 12 feet further than the aisles, thus forming the sanctuary. This extension was carried out in 1884 to house the choir.
At the west end of the nave is a spacious gallery, resting on carved Burma teak
pillars, which originally housed the seat for the Governor. In 1761, this was considerably enlarged to incorporate an organ, and provided with the two curved staircases, which still exist, to access the gallery from outside. In the nineteenth century, the gallery was reduced to its present size, and the organ removed later, in 1884, coincident with the building of the new sanctuary.
Though it now has a tower to the west of the nave, this was not part of the original design but was rather added at the end of the seventeenth century on the orders of Sir John Goldsborough. The spire was added at the beginning of the eighteenth century and some old prints show the tower without the spire. The tower originally stood free of the church and was linked up with the main building much later.
Two vestries at the east end of each of the aisles were built in the nineteenth century.
The internal dimensions of the building are 86 feet by 56 feet, with the outside walls 4 feet thick and the walls separating the nave from the aisles, 3 feet thick. The extraordinary thickness of the walls was to protect the building from attack and damage during storms.
One of the unique and cunning features that was incorporated in its design was a bomb-proof roof approximately four feet thick and rounded in the manner of a wagon's roof, so as to cause cannon-balls to ricochet. However, it must be kept in mind that the bombs it was designed to withstand were seventeenth century cannon-balls. Also, wood was avoided as much as possible in the original design to obviate fires.
The altar piece, a depiction of the Last Supper
, is unsigned but is said to betray obvious signs of the Raphaelite school, and it is supposed that Raphael
himself painted the central figures. The altar piece was brought to Madras as part of the spoils of war by the British troops who stormed Pondicherry in 1761.
of Judicature, now stands.
During the second siege of Madras by the French, in 1758-'59, the British were put to great difficulties by the fact that the French were afforded shelter from bullets and shells by the tombs. Therefore, on the petition to the Select Committee of Sir John Call, the Chief Engineer of the fort, the cemetery was re-located to the north-west of the island, while the tomb-stones were brought and placed around the church. Some of them were again removed during the investiture of the fort by Hyder Ali, when they were used as gun-platforms. It was not until 1807 that they were re-collected and restored to their former position around the church.
When the Capuchin Church of St. Andrew was demolished subsequent to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, many of the tomb-stones were brought here, thus explaining the large numbers of Roman Catholic grave-stones, inscribed in Latin
and Portuguese
.
This ancient prayer house solemnized the marriages of both Robert Clive and Governor Elihu Yale
, who assisted in the foundation of Yale University
in the United States of America.
Among those interred within the walls of the church are four governors of Fort St. George - Sir Thomas Munro
, Bt., George, Lord Pigot, the Rt. Hon. Vere Henry, Lord Hobart and Sir Henry George Ward
.
Numerous memorial-plaques and monuments exist within the church of which two, that of Sir Barry Close, who was Adjutant General to Gen. George Harris
at the Siege of Seringapatam
, and gave his name to Closepet, and that of Lt. Col. Joseph Moorhouse, who was killed at the Siege of Bangalore
, in the Third Anglo-Mysore War
, would be of particular interest to the historian.
Fort St George
Fort St George is the name of the first English fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. The construction of the Fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land...
, is the oldest Anglican church East of Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
and also the oldest British building in India. The church is popularly known as the 'Westminster Abbey of the East'.
History
From 1639, when Madras was founded, until 1678, when Streynsham MasterStreynsham Master
Sir Streynsham Master was one of the 17th century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681 and is credited with having introduced the first administrative reforms in the Madras Government.Returning to England, in 1692 he...
was appointed the English East India Company's Agent at Madras, religious services were conducted in the dining-room of the Factory House. It was at Master's initiative, and without the sanction of the Directors of the Company, that a subscription was started for the construction of the church.
The sum collected amounted to 805 pagoda
Pagoda (coin)
Pagoda was a unit of currency, a coin made of gold or half gold minted by Indian dynasties as well as the British, the French and the Dutch. It was issued by various dynasties in medieval southern India, including the Kadambas of Hangal, the Kadambas of Goa, and the Vijaynagar Empire.There were two...
s with the Governor and other officers contributing. Construction was started on 25 March, 1678 - Lady Day
Lady Day
In the western Liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in some English speaking countries. It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days. The "Lady" was the Virgin Mary. The term derives from Middle English, when some...
, whereby the church acquired its name. The church was rendered the only bomb-proof building at the time, in the Fort, on account of a peculiarly designed roof, details of which are provided under Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
.
Construction was completed in the course of two years and the church was consecrated on the 28th of October, 1680 by the chaplain Rev. Richard Portman
Richard Portman
Richard Portman is an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for ten more in the same category...
. The ceremony was marked by the firing of small arms and cannon by the fort's garrison.
On account of its peculiar roof-structure, the church was used as a barrack and granary between December, 1758 and January, 1759 during the Second Carnatic War, when the French
French East India Company
The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in colonial India....
besieged Madras and again when Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
invaded the town in the late 18th century.
Architecture
The architect of the church was either Edward Foule, Master-Gunner of Fort St. George, or William Dixon, Chief Gunner of the Fort, in 1678.The building consists of a nave and two aisles, with the nave protruding about 12 feet further than the aisles, thus forming the sanctuary. This extension was carried out in 1884 to house the choir.
At the west end of the nave is a spacious gallery, resting on carved Burma teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
pillars, which originally housed the seat for the Governor. In 1761, this was considerably enlarged to incorporate an organ, and provided with the two curved staircases, which still exist, to access the gallery from outside. In the nineteenth century, the gallery was reduced to its present size, and the organ removed later, in 1884, coincident with the building of the new sanctuary.
Though it now has a tower to the west of the nave, this was not part of the original design but was rather added at the end of the seventeenth century on the orders of Sir John Goldsborough. The spire was added at the beginning of the eighteenth century and some old prints show the tower without the spire. The tower originally stood free of the church and was linked up with the main building much later.
Two vestries at the east end of each of the aisles were built in the nineteenth century.
The internal dimensions of the building are 86 feet by 56 feet, with the outside walls 4 feet thick and the walls separating the nave from the aisles, 3 feet thick. The extraordinary thickness of the walls was to protect the building from attack and damage during storms.
One of the unique and cunning features that was incorporated in its design was a bomb-proof roof approximately four feet thick and rounded in the manner of a wagon's roof, so as to cause cannon-balls to ricochet. However, it must be kept in mind that the bombs it was designed to withstand were seventeenth century cannon-balls. Also, wood was avoided as much as possible in the original design to obviate fires.
Altar piece
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
, is unsigned but is said to betray obvious signs of the Raphaelite school, and it is supposed that Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
himself painted the central figures. The altar piece was brought to Madras as part of the spoils of war by the British troops who stormed Pondicherry in 1761.
Church-Yard
Originally, no church-yard existed and all those who died in the fort were buried in the Guava Garden, that adjoined the Governor's House in the 17th and early 18th centuries. This grove was located where the High CourtMadras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
of Judicature, now stands.
During the second siege of Madras by the French, in 1758-'59, the British were put to great difficulties by the fact that the French were afforded shelter from bullets and shells by the tombs. Therefore, on the petition to the Select Committee of Sir John Call, the Chief Engineer of the fort, the cemetery was re-located to the north-west of the island, while the tomb-stones were brought and placed around the church. Some of them were again removed during the investiture of the fort by Hyder Ali, when they were used as gun-platforms. It was not until 1807 that they were re-collected and restored to their former position around the church.
When the Capuchin Church of St. Andrew was demolished subsequent to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, many of the tomb-stones were brought here, thus explaining the large numbers of Roman Catholic grave-stones, inscribed in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Important ceremonies and burials
Elihu Yale
Elihu Yale was a Welsh merchant and philanthropist, governor of the East India Company, and a benefactor of the Collegiate School of Connecticut, which in 1718 was named Yale College in his honour.- Life :...
, who assisted in the foundation of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in the United States of America.
Among those interred within the walls of the church are four governors of Fort St. George - Sir Thomas Munro
Thomas Munro
Major-general Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet KCB was a Scottish soldier and colonial administrator. He was an East India Company Army officer and statesman.-Lineage:...
, Bt., George, Lord Pigot, the Rt. Hon. Vere Henry, Lord Hobart and Sir Henry George Ward
Henry George Ward
Sir Henry George Ward GCMG was an English diplomat and politician. The son of politician and, in his retirement, writer Robert Ward and his first wife Catherine Julia Maling, and the cousin of William Ward and William George Ward, he entered the diplomatic service in 1816...
.
Numerous memorial-plaques and monuments exist within the church of which two, that of Sir Barry Close, who was Adjutant General to Gen. George Harris
George Harris, 1st Baron Harris
George Harris, 1st Baron Harris GCB was a British soldier.Harris was the son of the Reverend George Harris, curate of Brasted, Kent. He was educated at Westminster School and at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, he was commissioned to the Royal Artillery in 1760, transferring to an ensigncy in...
at the Siege of Seringapatam
Siege of Seringapatam
Siege of Seringapatam can refer to:* Siege of Seringapatam during the Third Anglo-Mysore War* Siege of Seringapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War...
, and gave his name to Closepet, and that of Lt. Col. Joseph Moorhouse, who was killed at the Siege of Bangalore
Siege of Bangalore
The Siege of Bangalore was a siege of the town and fortifications of Bangalore during the Third Anglo-Mysore War by forces of the British East India Company, led by Charles, Earl Cornwallis against a Mysorean garrison, while Tipu Sultan, Mysore's ruler, harried the camps and positions of the...
, in the Third Anglo-Mysore War
Third Anglo-Mysore War
The Third Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company and its allies, including the Mahratta Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad...
, would be of particular interest to the historian.