VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE
{ COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN COCHIN

SUBMITTED BY:
SOLAIMALAI D
SUMESH BABU
SURYA KUMAR U
Cochin - Biggest urban
conglomeration in Kerala.
Location -9deg 55' N & 76deg 15'
East.
Characteristic physical feature
expanse of backwaters and low
lying wetlands.
Typical soil strata - alluvial soil
laden with fine silt & clay to depths
up to 50m.
Hot humid climate with max. temp
of 34 deg & min of 22 deg.
Average annual rain fall - 3000 mm
from two monsoons. Relative Humidity - 70 - 87 %

LOCATION, GEOGRAPHIC AND

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS:
 •Cochin Port was formed in 1341, when the heavy floods
of that
year silted up the mouths of the Musiris harbor and the
surging
waters forced a channel past the present inlet into the sea.
The old
merchants of Musiris shifted to Cochin as soon as the new
outlet
became more or less stable.
•As the harbour gained prominence, the then ruler of the
region
shifted his capital also to Cochin, giving impetus to the
growth of
the town.

EARLY HISTORY
 •The early settlement of Cochin was at Mattanchery,
facing the
protected lagoons in the east, which provided safe
anchorage to
country crafts in all seasons. Mattanchery was linked to
the entire
coastal stretch of Kerala through this inland waters. Thus
gradually
it grew into a busy settlement.
*Nicolo Conti recorded that, by 1440, Cochin was a city 5
miles in
circumference and that Chinese and Arabs carried on
brisk trade
with the natives of this town.

EARLY HISTORY
 *From 16th Century, Cochin witnessed the rapid changes
through
the trading and colonizing attempts of European powers.
Portuguese were the first to arrive in Cochin. They
founded Fort
Cochin
established factories and warehouses, schools and
hospitals and
extended their domain in the political and religious
fronts. The fall
of the Portuguese in Cochin came with take over of the
Fort by
Dutch in 1663.

COLONIAL SETTLEMENT IN
FORT COCHIN
 •The Dutch East India Company tried to persuade the
local rulers
into giving them monopoly in pepper trade. In this
attempt, they
came across varied interests of other forces viz. English,
French and
the Dutch.
•For hundred years therefore Cochin became the center
of political
and commercial battle. In 1795, The British took over
Cochin from
the Dutch. Fort Cochin thus became British Cochin. It
became a
•Municipality in 1866.

COLONIAL SETTLEMENT IN
FORT COCHIN
 •Mattanchery, meanwhile, had developed as a typical oriental
market town, with
commercial
•activities distributed along the waterfronts.
•The agricultural produce from the vast hinterland flowed to its
markets to be sold or
exchanged for textiles, metals, and other products of European
Countries. Jews and
Muslims had their settlements here.
•The trading communities from Gujarat and the emigrants from
Goa too established
themselves in Mattanchery along with the native Hindus and
early Christians. As far as
the rulers were concerned, this helped to strike a balance of
economic power with the
European traders.

Market Town- Mattanchery

 By 1840, Mattanchery was so much crowded that the
Cochin rulers shifted their
capital to
*Ernakulam on the eastern side of the backwaters. Public
buildings and educational
institutions were set up in Ernakulam befitting the
splendor of Maharajas. Roads were
laid out. Markets were established. Temples were
renovated.
• Railways came to Ernakulam in 1905. Ernakulam thus
gradually started developing as
an administrative town. Mattanchery rose to the status of
Municipality in 1912 and
was followed by Ernakulam in 1913.

Administrative Centre-Ernakulam
 In those decades the existence of a sand bar in the sea mouth
prevented large ships from
entering safely into the backwaters of Cochin. With industrialization
in the west there
came the revolution in overseas trade with the wrought iron ships of
greater draught and
the consequent need for deeper and safer harbours and stronger
moorings. The opening
of Suez Canal in 1869 further emphasized the importance of this port
as a coaling station
for this route. The idea of making great harbour, out of the unique
lagoons in
*Cochin was thus originated as early as 1870. But Cochin presented a
case for dredged
channel leading to the inland harbour, unfortunately the science and
art of dredging was
not fully developed in this period.

DEVELOPMENT OF COCHIN
PORT
Hence it was only in 1920 that the port works were initiated. Under the direction of Sir
Robert Bristo, the sand bar at sea mouth was cut open and a deep shipping channel was
dredged to the backwaters.
•The spoils of the dredging was used to the reclaim Wellington island from the
backwaters. Road connection to the main land on the west and road-rail connection to
the
east from the island was completed in 1940 when Cochin was declared as a major port
by
the Government of India, Wellington Island developed with its
wharfs, quays and other infrastructure as terminal complex of transportation.
Cochin port gradually became the focus of the city. Centered around the port facility
grew
large number of business and commercial establishments providing the economic base
to
the city and the environs.

DEVELOPMENT OF COCHIN
PORT
•The industrialization in turn resulted in population increase and
consequent urban growth. Cochin thus witnessed unprecedented
trends of urbanization during the past four decades.
•The growth of population and activities has necessitated efforts to
tackle urban problems, to regulate city building and to
*guide future development.
•While the Municipal Govt.s of Fort Cochin, Mattanchery and
Ernakulam were able to exercise their powers and evolve schemes in
their respective areas of jurisdiction, they were not in position to
perceive the problems of urban growth as a whole and to plan for it.
•In order to streamline the municipal administration, the Cochin
Corporation was formed in 1967, incorporating the three
Municipalities (Fort Cochin, Mattanchery and Ernakulam). Wellington
Island and few surrounding areas in the suburbs.

Genesis of Cochin Corporation

Built in 1568 AD. This building
houses some ancient articles like
the Great Scrolls of the Old
Testament, the copper plates with
royal inscriptions issued to the
colonists by the ruling Maharaja of
Cochin State, and the exquisite
Chinese hand-painter tiles.

Jewish Synagogue -
Mattancherry
Surrounded by impressive century old trees,
the Parade Ground was used by the
Portuguese, the Dutch and the British to
conduct military drills and parades. It is
situated in the heart of Fort Kochi and you can
see some of the fine old buildings surrounding
it. These buildings accommodated the
administration of the colonial powers. Today it
is the largest open space in Fort Cochin and
serves as a public sports ground.

Parade Ground
These huge cantilevered fishing nets are
the legacy
from the ancient visitors to the Malabar
coast. Built
in the 14th century AD by traders from
the court of
Kublai Khan, these ingenious
contraptions were
made from locally available teak wood
and bamboo
poles. The best place to watch the nets
being
lowered into the sea and raised with the
catch is the
Vasco da Gama Square, a paved
promenade that
runs along the beach.
This mansion used to be the busy office
of
Pierce Leslie & Co. Who traded in coffee
and
other produce from Kerala from the year
1862
onwards till recently. A prominent
colonial
bungalow in Fort Cochin, it combines
Portuguese, Dutch and also local style of
architecture. Characteristic features are
wooden panels that for a false ceiling to
the
ground floor halls, arched doorways,
carved
doors and sprawling rooms. Waterfront
verandahs add to the glamour of the
edifice.
 This magnificent building constructed by
Samuel S. Koder of The Cochin Electrical
Company in 1808 is a supreme example of
the transition from colonial to Indo European
architecture. Features like verandah seats at
the entrance, floor tiles set in a chess board
pattern, red colored brick like facade, carved
wood furniture and a wooden bridge
connecting to a separate structure across the
street are all unique to this bungalow.

Koder House
 Built by the Portuguese and presented to the
Raja (King) of Cochin in 1557 AD, it acquired
the
present name after 1663 when the Dutch
carried
out extension and renovation in the Palace. Its
interiors are decorated with murals from the
epic
Ramayana. Also there are exhibits of some
royal
costumes and palanquins used by the Rajas
for travel,

Mattancherry Palace (Dutch Palace)

Standing on a gentle hillock near the Parade Ground, the Bishop's House boasts a facade
having large gothic arches. Originally build in 1506 AD for the residence of the Portuguese
Governor; it was the turn of the Dutch to occupy it from 1663 AD. After the British conquest
in 1795 the property came into the possession of the Vernedes family. From them it moved
into the hands of Dom Jose Gomes Ferreira, the 27th Bishop of Cochin, whose jurisdiction
extended over to Burma, Malaya and Ceylon, in addition to the whole of Southern and
Eastern India.
Today, a Museum depicting Indo-Portuguese history is functioning in a newly built hall.
Standing on a gentle hillock near the Parade Ground, the Bishop's House boasts a facade
having large gothic arches. Originally build in 1506 AD for the residence of the Portuguese
Governor; it was the turn of the Dutch to occupy it from 1663 AD. After the British conquest
in 1795 the property came into the possession of the Vernedes family. From them it moved
into the hands of Dom Jose Gomes Ferreira, the 27th Bishop of Cochin, whose jurisdiction
extended over to Burma, Malaya and Ceylon, in addition to the whole of Southern and
Eastern India.
Today, a Museum depicting Indo-Portuguese history is functioning in a newly built hall.

Indo-Portuguese Museum/Bishop's HouseIndo-Portuguese

Museum/Bishop's House
 Considered as India's oldest European
Church, it was originally Roman Catholic
Church during the Portuguese period from
1503 till 1663 Ad, then Dutch Reformist till
1804, and Anglican till 1947. Today it is part of
the Church of South India. The Original timber
structure was demolished and reconstructed
using stone masonry during the 16th century.

St. Francis Church

 Built in 1503, Fort Immanuel was a
symbol of the strategic alliance between
the Rajah of Cochin and Monarch of
Portugal, after whom it was named. The
Fort was strengthened in 1538, but alter
the Dutch conquest in 1663 it
deteriorated to a third of its original size.
In 1806 the British brought down the
huge walls of the Fort and most of the
bastions. Now its remains can still be
traced along the beach, some under
water.

Fort Immanuel
THANK YOU