Delhi Heritage Walks...: KASHMERE GATE HERITAGE WALK – remembering Mutiny

Kashmiri Gate - Heritage Walk

Last Sunday (01st August, 2010), we walked through History – remembering the Mutiny of 1857. In spite of the weather being dull and raining constantly, the mood amongst was upbeat and energy levels high !!

Walking Route:

 Commencing with the Telegraph Memorial

 Old Stephen College

 Fakhrul Masjid

 St. James Church

 William Fraser’s Bungalow

 British Courts

 Old City Wall

 Kashmere Gate

 Nicholson Cemetery

 Qudsia Bagh

 Ending with the Baradari and Shahi Gate (within Qudsia Bagh)

TELEGRAPH MEMORIAL

Located within 100 meters to the north of British Magazine is the Telegraph Memorial built on the site of the wooden cabin in which the Telegraph officers worked. It was from this site that the last signal "we are off" was posted to Ambala during the 1857 war of Independence that officers there learnt about the revolt by the sepoys in Meerut and Delhi and could plan counter attacks.

Though with much difficulty but one can read the inscription on the Memorial 'the electric telegraph has saved India'. The officers responsible for the message were Brendish and Pilkington, who gauzed the situation and posted the message before evacuating their wooden cabin.

This memorial was erected in the year 1902, to commemorate the dedicated and loyal service of the Delhi Telegraph Office Staff. Robert Montgomery had commented ―The Electric Telegraph has saved India‖.
One of the oldest memorials in Delhi, the Telegraph Memorial still stands as a witness to those ignited times of history and also reflects the fervor of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.

OLD ST. STEPHEN’S COLLEGE

St Stephen's College was founded on 1 February 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi in conjunction with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The Cambridge Mission comprised a number of Dons from various colleges at Cambridge University, and one of them, the (later Canon) Samuel Scott Allnutt was the founder and the first Principal of the College. There was a St. Stephen's School in Delhi, run by the S.P.G Mission since about 1854. The Cambridge Brotherhood arrived in Delhi in 1877 to reinforce the teaching strength of this school. The Government had meanwhile, in 1879 closed down its Delhi College here, thus depriving the city and the neighboring districts of the benefits of higher education. St Stephen's College stepped into the breach in 1881. The College was in fact an extension of the school and for some time, Allnutt was the Principal of both the School and the College.

In the early years both the School and the College occupied rented premises in two mansions built in the old Mughal style in the bye lanes off Chandni Chowk, opposite the present Central Bank Building. The College was housed in Shish Mahal in Katra Khushhal Rai in Kinnari Bazar from 1881 to 1890.

On 8 December, 1891 it moved into its own beautiful buildings designed by Col (later Sir) Swinton Jacob, Chief Engineer of Jaipur State. These buildings stand on both sides of the road in Kashmere Gate, close to the historic St. James' Church. On 1 October 1941, the college occupied its present home in the Delhi University Enclave. Designed by Walter George, it is an elegant two story red brick building around four spacious courts. Built on ground levels, it has beautiful lines all along and in other respects too, particularly in the subtle Mughal motifs, it is a fine piece of architecture. Many more buildings have been added since 1941, the most remarkable of them being the Chapel, again designed by Walter George and added in 1952.

Here is our group of people from our heritage walk walking around its campus.

FAKHRUL MASJID

The market has an 18th century mosque called the Lal Masjid, built by a lady, Fatima Fakhrul, in memory of her husband who worked for Emperor Aurangzeb. This mosque is also known as Fakhrul Masjid or the ‗pride of mosques.

ST. JAMES CHURCH

St. James' Church, Delhi, also known as Skinner's Church, built in 1836 by Colonel James Skinner, is one of the oldest churches in Delhi and part of the Diocese of Delhi. Situated near Kashmiri Gate, it is located at the intersection of Church Road and Lothian Road. Behind the church is bungalow of British Commissioners of Delhi, William Frazer, who is also buried in the church graveyard

The church was commissioned by Colonel James Skinner (1778-1841), after he had vowed to build a church, while lying wounded in a battle field, if he survived. Subsequently, he builds at his own expense of 95,000 Rupees, and designed by Major Robert Smith. Th construction started in 1826, and was completed in 1836.

The copper ball and cross on the top, which are said to be replica of a church in Venice, were damaged during 1857 revolt, and was later replaced. The church is most known for two important graves on that of Colonel James Skinner, and another belonging to one of the British Commissioners of Delhi, William Frazer near the large Memorial Cross erected in memory of the victims of 1857 revolt. At the rear, lies the tomb of Thomas Metcalfe (1795–1853), who lived in Delhi for forty years (1813 to 1853), during which time he served as Agent to Governor General of India and a Commissioner, within his family plot.

WILLIAM FRASER’S BUNGALOW

Located just behind the sacred St James Church stands an off white large domed building popularly known as William Fraser Bungalow and currently an administrative office of Northern Railway. Built on the 'tykhana' or cellar made of Lakhori bricks of Ali Mardan Khan palace, Shah Jahan's senior general and one of the most important 'Omrahs' in the Mughal Empire, the Bungalow was constructed in 1803. It was the residence of the Deputy Resident of Delhi, Sir William Fraser, when British first came to Delhi in 1803. Sir William Fraser was known for his likings for Indian social life and his Indian friends. He was appointed Resident of Delhi in 1828.

There are two separate blocks, which forms the whole building. The first block, which is attached to the portico, has four octagonal corner turrets. It is a low rectangular building and it leads to the dome chamber that was added later. The second block, which was also the part of the original building, stands on the far side of the first block. The special feature of the second block is that it has a bow-fronted verandah and it once faced the Yamuna River. The building suffered damages during the first war of independence. It was repaired later and has been well maintained till date. The building was awarded the Heritage Award in 1997 in which it was described that the "building seems to be a fusion of late Victorian and Indo-Saracenic style" and "is maintained well with minimum alteration".

KASHMERE GATE:

The Kashmiri Gate is a gate located in Delhi, it is the northern gate to the historic walled city of Delhi. Built by Military Engineer Robert Smith in 1835, the gate is so named because it used to start a road that led to Kashmir

When Britishers first started settling in Delhi in 1803, they found the walls of Old Delhi city, Shahajahanabad lacking repairs, especially after siege by Maratha Holkar in 1804, subsequently they reinforced city's walls. They gradually set up their residential estates in Kashmere Gate area, which once housed Mughal palaces and homes of nobility. The gate next gained national attention during the Mutiny of 1857, considered to be the first war of Indian Independence .Indian freedom fighters fired volleys of cannon balls from this gate at the British and used the area to assemble for strategizing fighting and resistance. Here, the first patriots committed their lives to the cause of independence.

The British had used the gate to prevent the mutineers from entering the city. Evidence of the struggles is visible today in damages to the existing walls (the damage is presumably cannon ball related). Kashmere Gate was the scene of an important assault by British Army during Indian rebellion of 1857, during which on the morning of September 14, 1857 the bridge and the left leaf of the Gate were destroyed using gunpowder, starting the final assault on the rebels towards the end of Siege of Delhi.
After 1857, the British moved to Civil Lines, and Kashmere Gate became the fashionable and commercial centre of Delhi, a status it lost only after the creation of New Del hi in 1931.

NICHOLSON CEMETERY

Named after the renowned British Brigadier General John Nicholson, the cemetery has a cross-shaped gateway with sloping roofs and is spread over a large area housing numerous gravestones and memorials. Although the cemetery is overgrown with vegetation, and in a state of serious neglect, there still are many memorials and tombstones, which are of high architectural value and worth a visit. The wooden gateway, as well as the enclosure wall of the cemetery, dates back to the time when the cemetery was constituted.

As one enters the cemetery, the grave of John Nicholson can be seen just near the entrance on the right. Said to be a man of high principles, he was among the leading officers who were responsible for the defeat of nationalist forces during the first War of Indian Independence in 1857. A great administrator, General Nicholson was buried in this cemetery when he died, just before the end of the War of 1857.

Besides Nicholson, there are many English soldiers, administrators and their wives who are buried here. The inscriptions on their gravestones record the difficult life that they lived in India. The numerous gravestones of children are particularly touching.

QUDSIA BAGH

Qudsia Begum, the patroness of these gardens, was born Udham Bai, and was an 18th century dancing girl. The Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah `Rangeela‘, smitten by her, married her- but himself died in 1748. He was succeeded by his son Ahmad Shah, in whose reign Udham Bai—now formally titled Qudsia Begum—came into her own. She became the power behind the throne, and began to make her presence felt. The gardens that bear her name were laid out in 1748, and have a turbulent history.

Qudsia Bagh was originally near the river Yamuna, and was more a camping ground than a formal garden. The Emperor and his household came here on extended picnics that included jackal-hunting, much feasting and gaiety.

The mutiny of 1857 put an end to the gaiety. The Indian rebels barricaded themselves inside the Walled City of Delhi (to which the nearby Kashmere Gate was an entrance); the British, therefore, occupied Qudsia Bagh and made it their battery. In the subsequent shelling, hundreds died, and Qudsia Bagh, not surprisingly, was more or less ruined. Today, only three monuments remain in Qudsia Bagh: the gate, the mosque, and the baradari.