St. George Cathedral

With the end of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and peace in the Carnatic at the turn of the century, an increasing number of British left the relative safety of Fort St. George to reside in the great garden houses that were built across the Plain. St. Mary’s at the Fort, the oldest Anglican church east of the Suez, was no longer patronised by those who lived here, and the need to build another church in the vicinity arose. St George’s cathedral came into the picture. 
The British East India Company’s Senior Engineer Col. J. L. Caldwell designed the church. The cathedral was built in 1815. It was Built of lime and mortar, the cathedral has a long nave, two flanking aisles and two side entrances built on a tier of steps lined with palms. It is filled with statues, busts and memorials to men, women and clergy who administered, fought and died for the Empire. Stained-glass windows filter daylight in shades so colourful.

St George’s Cathedral is where the Governors of Fort St. George and visiting Viceroys attended service. 

Source: Wikipedia | The Hindu

The Church of Christ King

The CHURCH OF CHRIST KING situated within the Loyola college campus is surely an awe-inspiring architectural masterpiece. The unique cathedral was designed and built in 1931 by Architect S.A.Gnana Pragasam Pillai at the behest of Rev. Fr. Francis Bertram S.J., founder of Loyola College. ✝️The church resembles the style of lancet gothic architecture which is highly used in Italian and English ( Salisbury) cathedrals.

The 157 feet tall single German spire  rising on the central portal along with the slender needle pinnacles set as corner elements, on the piers and the fliers of the buttress gives the church a flamboyant elevation. The church does not have a vast area or height but its pine like structure is very impressive.
The structure appears like a like the bow of an ancient Roman ship to those who view it from outside. The interior is so simple and less chromatic without stained glass paintings which is a common feature in most churches.

Source: loyolacollege.edu | Bjshailu.

st. Mary’s Church – 1680

The St. George fort is not just the seat of power in Tamilnadu. It is a historian’s paradise and the british era had it’s proper beginning here.

St. Mary’s church within the Fort St. George is the first church built by the Anglicans east of suez and the oldest british building in Madras. The excavation work for the church began on March 25, 1678 Lady’s day by Governor Stryensham master. Since the work commenced on annunciation day of the blessed virgin, the church was named St. Mary’s in her honour.

The St. mary’s church is located in a shaded corner in the south east part of the fort. The Building is a solid construction designed by Master Gunner and Bastion designer William Dixon to withstand sieges, cyclones and the ravages of time. The original building was a rectangular box, 60 feet by 90 feet with outer walls four feet thick and a bomb-proofed curve roof, two feet thick. The sanctuary, steeple, tower and vestry were later additions to the brick building that Dixon built. It’s carved teakwood balustrade dates to 1680. The tower detached from the church was built in 1701 and the steeple in 1710. The obelisk shaped spire was added in 1795 after the proposal to make it a lighthouse was turned down. Above the large open windows are lovely stained glass arches that filter a multi-coloured glow in to the church when the windows are closed.

Churches hold much more than biblical stories and legends. They have been the cornerstone in many a historical events. For more interesting stories keep watching this space.

Photo: Frederick Fiebig in c.1851 | BL
Source: Madras Rediscovered | S. Muthiah.

Garrison Church, 1830

St. Thomas Mount has witnessed centuries of both biblical and colonial history and the St.Thomas Garrison Church stands as a symbol for both. The Church was built by the British government at the request of the army officers in the area in 1830. The British troops were housed in various places in Pallavaram and St. Thomas Mount. There was agitation by the soldiers to build a church for their worship. The government asked the Military Board to provide an estimate and allowed it to rent a building temporarily for the worship. There were multiple proposals for building the church, but the final approval came in 1820. The building was completed in 1827 at an estimated cost of Rs. 43,773 but was opened only in 1830 by Bishop Turner.
The church was constructed with bomb-proof roof and rust-proof iron railings, and most of the materials for the construction were imported from Britain. It is believed that the railings are made out of iron from the discarded weapons such as muskets, barrels, pikes of Tipu Sultan’s arsenal. The compound is surrounded by lush green trees which are easily 150 years old. With 20 windows and 5 doors the church has abundant natural light and the 6 Roman ionic pillars lend it a palatial appearance. The 175-year-old church is today home to what is believed to be the oldest organ in Madras, an 1823 one shipped out to Madras after use in England. The Bishop’s chair, Bible and chalice too came from England. The Chalice has the seal of Queen Victoria.Another interesting thing is that The Grand Southern Trunk Road begins here. The church’s address: 1, GST Road, Chennai – 600016.

For some it might seem as a religious place of worship but the centuries of histories this place holds is reason to go beyond religion and soak up the historical significance and architectural beauty of this building.

Source: The Hindu | Historian S.Muthiah

Luz Church, 1516

If given a choice always choose a city with history over a hi-fi metropolitan city and chennai seems to have the best of the both worlds! Right in between the busy and buzzing lanes of mylapore lies one of the country’s oldest European monuments- “The Church of Our Lady of Light” in 1516.The 500 year old Church was built in the Gothic style with Baroque ornamentation, the style precedes even the colonial architectural style complete with colonnaded verandahs, wooden beam ceiling and carved staircases.This two storied structure has tombstones engraved in Aramaic, Portuguese, Latin and English. A flight of steps within the church leads to a mezzanine floor. It was built by Portugese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral who also discovered Brazil. In 1500 AD he sailed from Lisbon to Calicut with 8 other sailors in search of opportunities and they developed the Malacca fort for their trade. They established Pulicat Lake as a rest stop on the Eastern Coast to dock the ships and unload goods. Legend has it that once when they were travelling to Pulicat, they were carried away by a storm and were lost at sea. Suddenly a bright light appeared out of nowhere and led them to shores of Mylapore. They followed the light to a place in the forest and as a tribute for bringing them to safery they built the Nossa Senhora da Luz or the Church of Our Lady of light in 1516. The shrine is popularly known as Luz Church or Kaatu koil ( Forest Shrine) and the name lent itself to the neighbourhood too as Luz Corner and Luz Church Road. Luz is the portugese word for Light. How a portugese word has creeped into our vocabulary so unseemingly is simply astonishing. The Luz church was damaged by Golconda Army from 1662-1673 and ravaged by Hyder Ali’s troops between 1780-1782 but it still stood the test of time to witness its Quincentenary celebrations in 2016 and stands as a testimony to the once European citadel called Madras.