Semest er- 4 – Hoa III – U nit 6

P re - I n d e p e n d e n c e A rc h i t e c t u re I n I n d i a
D eve lo pme nt of sec ular arch it ec t ure fro m t h e e nd o f
t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y t o t h e m i d d l e o f t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y.

BACKGROUND
India cast off the yoke of British colonialism more than six decades ago. The fetters and chains that chafed
and restrained, were cast off and a new era was ushered in with Independence. The era of Independent India
is a continuation of the pre-Independence period. Hence, for the benefit of a perspective, the pre-
Independence period, that is, the British Raj and the architectural development during that period, must form
a prelude to a study of the era of independent India.

T Seventeenth century, the
British acquired a foothold in
H India, as speculative traders.
B 1639, the east India
company established its
R government in madras and
three decades later obtained
I possession of Bombay.
T
I
S nationalism, upsurge of the
A power to be reckoned
H with.
R
A The company assumed the
J The influence of the mughals
was on the wane and their
fall was imminent.
A British governor-general
with headquarters in
Calcutta was the supreme
authority.
1850s the whole
subcontinent was under the
sway of company, which had
defeated its foreign rivals as
well as insurgent Indians.
These ports were known as
presidency towns.
powers of a state and was,
the sovereign authority in
Bombay, Calcutta and
madras, the three principal
ports of India.
1858 the company formally
handed over the reins of
power to the British crown.
This made India a British
colony ruled by the queen-
empress in London,
represented by her viceroy in
Calcutta.
Growing spirit of
Indians en-masse, guided by
the votaries of non-violence
struck a fatal blow to the
British.
August 15, 1947 heralded
the end of about 300 years
of British colonialism.
 A R C H I T E C T U R A L D E V E LO P M E N T I N P R E - I N D E P E N D E N C E I N D I A

 For a purposeful and comprehensive survey of the changes in the attitude and style of architecture during British
rule, sub classification pertaining to four distinct periods becomes necessary.

THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT - 1640-1840

THE PERIOD OF ASCENDANCY - 1840-1900

THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION - 1900-1925

THE MODERN MOVEMENT - 1925-1947

 THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT - 1640-1840
 During this period British
faced the onerous task of
consolidating their
position all over the
country and exercising
their authority by force, as
was done by their
predecessors.
 Well protected military
stations for those away
from their original homes
were of paramount
necessity.
 So they constructed forts
in the three presidency
towns and for years their
original settlements were
enclosed within fortified
walls.
 The prominent among
them were Fort St. George
at Madras and Fort
William at Calcutta
• Located on the banks of the River
Hooghly, the fort is an irregular octagon
in plan and is surrounded by a moat.
• Five massively fortified gates provided
access to it, over water on one side and
by land on the other.
• This area later became Calcutta’s
Maidan-a grand park in the heart of the
city.
• At the centre of the fort stood St. Peter’s
Church and between its grids of
alleyways was a regular warren of
Fort William, Plan barracks, bomb-proof chambers,
interconnected galleries and stables.
THE FORT WILLIAM
• Built in 1750, the Fort William was designed
by Benjamin Robins.
• The fort contained offices, warehouses, an
arsenal, barracks and living quarters, besides a
church, a theatre, auction rooms, a library, a
bank, etc.
• The new Fort William at Calcutta was the
greatest Anglo-Indian military stations,
designed by Captain Brohier and completed in
1773, this was one of the most advanced
fortresses of its time.
The Garrison Church
 THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT - 1640-1840
BRITISH CANTONMENTS

 In the next phase, British

penetrated further into the land,
and established several military
stations, which, however, were not
fortified.
 “Cantonments”, as these were
called, were functionally planned
and were self sufficient military
towns having their own markets,
slaughter-houses, churches,
cemeteries, jails hospitals and
services like water supply.
 By the 1860s, there were about 175 Buildings in Secunderabad Cantonment
such cantonments, often
elaborately equipped and planned  The biggest of the cantonments was at
functionally on a strict grid-iron Secunderabad, in the State of Hyderabad.
pattern of streets, oriented to  It contained a headquarters building, a bazaar,
receive the season’s breeze. a club and a hotel, besides bungalows and a
 A distinct segregation of various church.
functions and activities was  A wide green belt on the edge of the complex
another major planning criterion. contained a race-course, a polo field, a
 The officers were segregated from cemetery and a vast parade ground.
the subordinates, the quarters of  Windsor Castle – another landmark, provided
the married form the barracks, the fortification in case of emergency.
British troops from the natives, the
artillery from the cavalry and so on.
 THE PERIOD OF ASCENDANCY - 1840-1900

 The period 1840-1900, was an extension of the British The Christ Church
school of architectural thought. The architecture in this on the Ridge at
period, exhibited a very strong influence of Western Shimla, with its
Architecture. rising tower, was
 The British needed certain buildings soon after assuming built in the Gothic
the reins of the government by the mid-nineteenth style. It was
designed to infuse
century. Till then they were neither prepared to part with
a sense of security
their European style of architecture nor were they & stability in the
equipped to study, mould, adapt or develop indigenous area.
architecture in the context of their needs.
 Since this period coincided with the industrial pre
The Christ Church, Shimla
eminence of the British in the world, the architecture
they produced in India was the mirror image of their
achievements at home. St. Paul’s
 Christ Church, Shimla (1844), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Cathedral,
Calcutta (1847), Queen’s College, Benaras (1847), Calcutta, with its
splendid scale, tall
Bombay University, Bombay(1870), Indian Museum,
pinnacled steeple
Calcutta(1875), Victoria and Albert Museum, and reverent
Bombay(1877), Viceregal Lodge, Shimla (1880), works of art &
Dalhousie Square, Calcutta-the Secretariat of the then craftsmanship,
Bengal Government(1880), and Victoria Terminus, had a classical
Bombay(1887), are some of the building examples which orthodox design,
pertain to this period and stand witness to a distinct and with the detailing
St. Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta all in Gothic
unmistakable European style of architecture.
 THE PERIOD OF ASCENDANCY - 1840-1900

 Bombay University, like the other

Bombay University Convocation Hall
universities in the Presidency towns, was
established to disseminate British ideas and
values among the Indian people. Designed
by Sir Gilbert Scott, it comprises of an
oblong quadrangle with double storied
blocks surrounding it. It is built in pure
Gothic style with elaborate buttresses, ogee
windows, open spiral staircases, stone
carvings, pinnacles and ornate arcades. Bombay University Hall

 The imperialists laid equal emphasis on

the construction of museums with
exhibits like archaeological relics, ancient
guns, fabrics and representations of
British history.
 The Indian Museum, Calcutta, the
Victoria & Albert Museum, Bombay, are
some of the important museums of this
period. The former was designed in an
Indian Museum, Calcutta Italianate palace style and the latter was
a French Renaissance building.
 THE PERIOD OF ASCENDANCY - 1840-1900

Some More Structures

Victoria & Albert Museum, Bombay

Victoria Terminus (CST), Bombay

 The Victoria Terminus at Bombay was built to celebrate Queen Victoria’s

Golden Jubilee in 1887. Designed by FW Stevens, it could well be termed the
truly central building. Its Italian Gothic structure with several domes,
pinnacles, turrets, tall stained glass windows, meticulous carvings, etc.
expresses the splendor and stateliness of imperialism.
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION - 1900-1925
 Conscious efforts were made by British architects to take into account the Indian conditions while building by
so doing, they were attempting to send signals through the medium of architecture that, despite being an
imperial people, they were organically and inextricably part of the Indian scene.
 Conscious efforts to express such a synthesis resulted in weird hybrid styles of architecture.
 A British architect, Sir William Emerson, thought that buildings in India should show a distinctively British
character and at the same time should adopt the details and essence of native architecture.
 Howrah railway station at Calcutta (1960), designed by Halsey Ricardo, and the capitol complex at New
Delhi(1912), designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker are examples of a revived imperial architecture
breathing an air of Indian ness.
 In their endeavor to make architecture more rational and appropriate to its locale, the British architects had to
compromise with elements from the Buddhist, Hindu and Mughal building vocabularies.

The Howrah Station

 Railway station, built in red brick, reflects the influence of Tibetan monastic features.
 The monotony of its complex and rigidly symmetrical façade is broken by eight solid brick towers.
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION - 1900-1925
 Thus spacious colonnades open verandahs,
Secretariat Building, New Delhi
 The Secretariat Building is where the Cabinet Secretariat is housed, built in
the 1910s, it is home to some of the most important ministries of the Cabinet
overhanging caves or cornices, narrow and high
window openings, chhajjas or wide, projecting
shad-giving stone cornices, jaalis or pierced stone
lattice screens to admit air and not glare and
chhatris or free standing pavilions breaking the
long horizontal lines of the flat roof were
incorporated into his scheme for two secretariat
blocks.

Rashtrapati Bhavan (erstwhile Viceroy’s House, New Delhi

of India.
 The Secretariat, together with the Rashtrapati Bhavan (erstwhile Viceroy's
House), were designed to form two squares.
 They have broad corridors between different wings and wide stairways to the
four floors and each building is topped by a giant dome, while each wings end
with colonnaded balcony.
 These buildings used cream and red Dholpur sandstone from Rajasthan, with
the red sandstone forming the base.
 The building is in classical architectural style, yet it incorporated from Mughal
and Rajasthani architecture style and motifs in its architecture.
 These are visible in the use of Jali, perforated screens, to protect from
scorching sun and monsoon rains of India.
 Another feature of the building is a dome-like structure known as the Chatri, a
design unique to India, used in ancient times to give relief to travelers by
providing shade from the hot Indian sun.
 Herbert Baker also believed that Indian sentiments could be satisfied by
grafting onto classical British architecture certain decorations expressing the
myths, symbols and history of the Indian people.
 THE MODERN MOVEMENT - 1925-1947
 During the period 1925-1947 the truth dawned on British
architects that if their works in India were to pulsate and vibrate
with life, these must mirror the culture and the living styles of
the Indians.
 British architecture in India was now compatible with the habits,
ways of life, culture and the life-giving spirit of the natives.
 Prominent examples are
St. Martin’s Garrison Church, New Delhi by Arthur Shoosmith,
St. Thomas’s Church, New Delhi by Walter George,
St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi by Walter George.

St. Martin’s Garrison

Church, New Delhi

St. Thomas’s
Church, New Delhi St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi
 THE MODERN MOVEMENT - 1925-1947
 The low-income housing complex the Gole Market area and the
middle-income housing complex on Ferozshah Road in New Delhi,
both designed by Henry Nicholls during the 1920s, show the
British concern for the architecture with roots in the land.
 The architecture included walled-in courtyards, planning for good
cross-ventilation and high ceilings.
 It should be remembered that exposed brick was only rarely used
in pre-colonial and colonial architecture of most of India.
 In fact, it was Walter George, together with such fellow British
architects as Arthur Gordon Shoosmith and Sir Reginald Blomfield,
who introduced exposed brick in Delhi. These architects were
fascinated by the material.
India Gate, New Delhi

 Technological advancements in Europe initially had little

impact on Indian architecture, yet by the 1930s the
mainstream of the Western modern movement reflected
the so-called international style.
 The advent of precast and pre-fabricated metal
components like staircases, handrails, grills and frames
had already initiated modifications and changes in the
external expression of buildings.
 Exploitation of reinforced concrete as contemporary
building material became common. Modernism,
according to its supporters, was not a superficial style
but an embodiment of fundamental and universal
principles.
 Modernists advocated architecture as a rational,
functional and culturally neutral mode of building.