INDOCOLONIAL

ARCHITECTURE OF
CHENNAI
 INTRODUCTION

 Chennai’s rich history has paved the way for its distinct
architectural style. From stunning Dravidian structures to
the stately colonial-era buildings, the city has its own
unique Indo-Saracenic architectural style. When India was
under British rule, this city was the headquarters for
Britishers in South India. Some of their offices and
residential buildings constructed during that time are still
maintained and have become important landmarks in
Chennai. Chennai architecture is a confluence of
many architectural styles. From ancient Dravidian temples built by
the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of
the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers.
Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by
progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port,
punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.
 Chennai, being the first major British settlement in the Indian
Subcontinent, witnessed several of the earliest constructions built in these
styles.
 The initial structures were warehouses and walled trading posts, giving
way to fortified towns along the coastline.
 It was chiefly the British who left a lasting impact on the city's architecture
succeeding the Mughals in the country.
 They followed various architectural styles, with Gothic,
Imperial, Christian, English Renaissance and Victorian being the
essentials.
 Starting with factories, several types of buildings such as courts,
educational institutions, municipal halls, and dark bungalows were built,
most of which were ordinary structures built by garrison engineers.
 Churches and other public buildings displayed a more nuanced architecture.
Most of the buildings were adaptations of the buildings designed by leading
British architects of that time like Wren, Adam, Nash and others in London
and other places
 these buildings were built mostly of brick and stuccoed with lime, with
"facades" sometimes incised to resemble stones. Some later buildings,
however, were built with stones. Several churches were built based on
London prototypes, with variations as highly original works.
 COMMON ARCHITECTURAL
FEATURES
• ONION DOMES
• OVERHANGING EAVES
• POINTED, CUSPED, SCALLOPED ARCHES
• VAULTED ROOF
• DOMED KIOSKS
• TOWERS AND MINARETS
• MANY MINIATURE DOMES OR DOMED
CHHATRIS
• OPEN PAVILLIONS
• PIERCED OPEN ARCADING
• HAREM WINDOW
LEADING ARCHITECTS OF COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN
CHENNAI WERE:
• ROBERT FELLOWES CHRISHOLM
• CHARLES MANT
• HENRY IRWING
• WILLIAM EMERSON
• GEORGE WITTET
• FREDERICK W. STEVENS
• In the city, one can notice the British influence in the form
of old cathedrals and the mix of Hindu, Islamic and Gothic
revival styles that resulted in the Indo-Saracenic style of
architecture. Most of the colonial-style buildings are
concentrated in the area around the port and Fort St
George. The remaining parts of the city consist of primarily
modern architecture in concrete, glass and steel.
 MADRAS HIGH COURT

.
 The Madras High Court believed to be the second largest judicial
building in the world next only to the Courts of London. It is a
good example of the Indo-Saracenic style
 Built in 1892 in the Indo-Saracenic style, the Madras High Court
has remained to this day one of the most distinct structures in the
country. Housing the most courts in all of Asia, it also has two
dysfunctional lighthouses inside its complex. The Madras High
Court also survived a World War II bombing by a German
warshipted in 1892.
• High Court Building is situated at Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose Road, just north of St.George fort. An example of Indo
Saracenic architecture.
• This complex houses High Court, the Small Cause's Court
and the City Civil Court. Built in 1892, under the guidance of
the famed architect Henry Irwin, this building is believed to
be the second largest judicial complex in the world.
• The red sand stone construction, ornamental decorations on
the walls, stained glass windows and minarets add beauty to
this building.
• The compound has a pyramid shape tomb which belongs to
the only son of Elihu Yale, who died in infancy.
• A fine example is Court No 13 which has stained glass,
fretted wood work, carved furniture, silvered panels and a
painted ceiling.
• Near the High Court building is the city's second lighthouse
tower and the highest point in the Court building once
housed the third lighthouse
 SIGNAGES AND LOCATION MAP IN
MADRAS HIGH COURT

The Madras High Court is located at Parry`s Corner, Chennai-600 104, in an exten
of 36 acres.
 The place can be reached both 
by train and by road. The
Beach Railway Station is
just a kilometre away from the
Madras High Court. Metro
Transport Corporation
operates buses from almost all
parts of the city to the High
Court. Within the High Court
premises, the following are also
located:-
City Civil Courts
Court of Small Causes
Labour Court
Family Court
Tamil Nadu State Legal
Services Authority
Tamil Nadu Mediation
Conciliation Center.

Access to High Court
Campus
 There are seven Gates for
entering into the High Court
premises.
1. Judges Gate
2. North Gate “A” (or) MBA
Gate
3. North Gate “B” (or)
AAVIN Gate
4. Bar Council Gate
5. Esplanade Gate
6. Legal Services Authority
Gate
7. South Gate (or)
Sesquicentenary Arch Gate
 Miniature
chhatris
Ceiling design
GATE 1 JUDGE GATE GATE
Stained glass2window
NORTH
GATE

Onion domes
ornamentation
 CHENNAI CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION

The main entrance of

the station

 Built in the year 1873, takes inspiration from both Gothic and
Romanesque styles of architecture. Situated on what used to be an
open garden owned by John Pereira, a Portuguese merchant. The
clock tower reaches a height of 136 feet (41.5 meters) and also has
Travancore-styled caps.
 Chennai Central, east while Madras Central, is the main railway
terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the 142-year-
old building of the railway station, one of the most prominent landmarks of
Chennai, was designed by architect George Harding.
 The station is also a main hub for the Chennai Suburban Railway system. It
lies adjacent to the current headquarters of the Southern Railway and
the Ripon Building.
 During the British Raj, the station served as the gateway to South India,
and the station is still used as a landmark for the city and the state .most
important hubs in the South
 ARCHITECTURE
• Built in the Gothic Revival style
• the original station was designed by George Harding and
consisted of four platforms and a capacity to accommodate 12-
coach trains.
• It took another five years for the work to be completed, when the
station was modified further by Robert Fellowes Chisholm with
the addition of the central clock tower, Travancore 'caps' on the
main towers, and other changes.
• The redesign was eventually completed in 1900. The main
building, a combination of Gothic and Romanesque styles has been
declared as a heritage building.
• The clock tower with the flagstaff, the tallest of the towers of the
main building, has four faces and reaches a height of 136 ft. It is
set to chime every quarter of an hour and every hour.
• The station has a platform area of 51,182 square metres (excluding
the suburban station building) and the total building area of the
main station is 14,062 square metres.
 SIDE VIEW OF
ELEVATION

PANORAMIC VIEW
VICTORIA PUBLIC HALL

 Inaugurated in 1890, Victoria Public Hall or the

Town Hall is a historical building in Chennai, named
after Victoria, Empress of India. It is one of the finest
examples of British architecture in Chennai and was
built to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen
Victoria. It served as a theatre and public assembly
room in the late 19th century and the early 20th
century. It now houses the South Indian Athletic
Association Club.
 Located on EVR Periyar Salai near Moore
Market and between Ripon Building and Chennai
Central Railway Station. The hall, an example of
the Indo-Saracenic architecture, was designed
by Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1840-1915) in
the Romanesque style and was built by Namperumal
Chetty between 1888 and 1890
 VICTORIA PUBLIC HALL
 Constructed with red
brick and painted with
lime mortar, the
rectangular building has
an Italianate tower
capped by a Travancore-
style roof.
 The structure consists of
arcaded verandahs along
the northern and
southern sides in the hall
on the first floor
supported on sleek
Corinthian stone
columns, a square tower
that is three storeys high,
and a carved pyramidal
roof.
 The ground floor of the
building has a built-up area
of 13,342 sq ft and the first
floor has a built-up area of
12,541 sq ft. The two large
halls in the ground and the
first floors were built to
accommodate 600 persons
each, while a wooden gallery
in the eastern end has
seating arrangement for
more than 200 persons.
 There is also an intricately
carved terracotta cornice,
which resembles Islamic
calligraphy, atop the
tower. The hall has four
staircases, of which three
lead to the hall on the first
floor and one to the balcony,
and four turrets
 The Trevelyan Fountain, a memorial fountain in the
grounds of the hall, was raised to mark the contribution
of Charles Trevelyan, Governor of Madras during 1859-
1860 and the developer of the People's Park, towards
providing the city with adequate drinking water. On one
side of the fountain is a bas relief of Trevelyan's head.
RENOVATION
 The Corporation of India
started renovating the hall in
April 2009 at a cost of ₹ 39.6
million under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission.The
restoration work includes
replacement of damaged roof
and work on the wooden
flooring and staircase. The
roofing is complete with teak
wood, while Mangalore tiles
embellish the building. The
dilapidated cuddapah stones
were recently replaced with
semi-polished stones.
 Once the work is finished,
sound and light show would be
conducted on the ground floor.
The first floor would be used to
conduct cultural programmes.
The hall would have a seating
capacity of 600 persons. the
work has been completed.
 ST. MARY'S CHURCH, CHENNAI
• St. Mary’s Church in Chennai is one of the oldest churches in Chennai. It
was an important place of visit for not just the English East India
Company, but other Europeans as well and it became one of the
important ports in India for European as well as Indian trade and
commerce.
• St. Mary’s Church in Chennai is an Anglican Church. The church was
established in the year 1679 AD. The church is an important place of
worship where thousands of devotees come and experience the holy
ambience.
• The church started as Government congregation and later the monument
became as one of the protected areas of the Archeological Survey of India.
• One of the oldest buildings of Chennai, it is the bearer of various
traditions of Chennai. This Anglican Church is interesting as it differs
from the other churches in Europe.The church of St. Mary’s in Chennai
is located at the heart of the city and tourists can easily reach the
church.
• St. Mary’s Church, Chennai was
built by William Dixon
• The structure is a rectangle built
with brick and polished lime.
• The curved roof makes the structure
unique and different
• Saint Mary’s Church, Chennai was
designed by Edward Fowle.
• The intricate glass work and the
wooden decorations make the church
an important tourist destination in
Chennai.
• 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 cannonballs to ricochet. However,
it must be kept in mind that the bombs it was designed to
withstand were seventeenth century cannonballs. Also, wood
was avoided as much as possible in the original design to
obviate fires.
 FORT ST. GEORGE

 Founded in 1644 at the coastal city of Madras, Fort St. George is the
first English fortress in India. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu
legislative assembly and other official buildings. The Fort St. George has
two main complexes, St Mary’s Church and the Fort Museum. St Mary’s
Church, finished in 1680, is the oldest Anglican church in India. Some of its
tombstones are the oldest in the country, and the church is famously known
as the ‘Westminster Abbey of the East’.
 Plan of Fort St George made during the French occupation of 1746-1749
 An 18th-century sketch of the fort
 Corner of Fort St George with cathedral, ca 1905
 Fort St George (or historically, White Town) The construction of the fort
provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what
was originally an uninhabited land. Thus, it is a feasible contention to say
that the city evolved around the fortress. The fort currently houses the Tamil
Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings. The fort is one of the
163 notified areas (megalithic sites) in the state of Tamil Nadu. The Fort is a
stronghold with 6 metres (20 ft) high walls that withstood a number of
assaults in the 18th century.
 Fort now serves as one of the administrative headquarters for
the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state and it still houses a
garrison of troops in transit to various locations at South India and
the Andamans. The Fort Museum contains many relics of the Raj era,
including portraits of many of the Governors of Madras. The fort is
maintained and administered by the Archaeological Survey of
India as a ticketed monument.
 St. Mary Church
 Museum
 Victoria memorial hall
 Flag post at Fort St George
 The Fort Museum exhibits many items of the period of English and
later British rule. This building was completed in 1795 and first
housed the office of the Madras Bank. The hall upstairs was the
Public Exchange Hall and served as a place for public meetings,
lottery draws and occasional entertainment. These relics are
reminders of British rule in India. The objects on display in the
museum are the weapons, coins, medals, uniforms and other artefacts
from England, Scotland, France and India dating back to the colonial
period. Original letters written by Clive and Cornwallis make
fascinating reading. One set of quaint period uniforms is displayed for
viewing, as well. However, the piece de resistance is a large statue
of Lord Cornwallis.
 The National Flag of India was designed by Pingali Venkayya and
adopted in its present form
 The first ever flown flag after the independence is stored in 3rd
floor of the museum.
 The museum is mentioned in the novel The Museum of Innocence,
by Nobel-laureate Orhan Pamuk.
 Wellesley House
 The first floor of the building includes the Banqueting Hall, which
holds paintings of the Governor of the Fort and other high officials
of the Regime.
 The canons of Tipu Sultan decorate the ramparts of the museum.
The 14.5 ft statue stands at the entrance near a stairway in the
museum. This statue was created by Charles Bank in England to
be brought to India. The pedestal of the statue is carved with a
scene depicting Tipu Sultan's emissary handing over Tipu's two
sons as hostage in lieu of a ransom he was unable to pay to the
British. It takes its name from Richard Wellesley, Governor
General of India, and brother of the Duke of Wellington.
 Flag staff
 The flag staff at the fort is one of the tallest in the country. Made of teakwood, it is
150 feet (46 m) high.
 Main article: Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai
 Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai is a 10-storeyed building at the campus and is the
power centre of state secretariat. It houses offices of the secretaries and
departments. Between 2012 and 2014, the building was renovated at a cost
of ₹ 28 crore, with additional facilities like centralised air-conditioning and new
electrical wiring system.
 In recent years
 The entire complex is administered by the Department of Defence. The fort building
is a three - storeyed one housing the offices of the chief minister and other ministers,
the chief secretary, home ministry, treasury, etc. The remaining offices are housed in
the 10-storeyed Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai, which houses more than 30
departments.
 The Legislature of Tamil Nadu and the secretariat (with headquarters of various
government departments) was situated in the fort. The fort itself was open to the
public however only to a certain area.
 The main building or the secretariat was open only to government officials and the
police. The cannons and the moat which guarded this old building have been left
untouched.
 Fort St George is the
name of the first
English fortress in
India, founded in
1644 at the coastal
city of Madras, the
modern city of
Chennai.
 Built by: East India
Company
 Condition: Good
 Architect: Francis
Day
 The fort is
considered to be the
first establishment
of the British in
India. chennai.