Kolkata (Calcutta) Things to Do

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When Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, captured the old Fort William on June 19, 1756, British prisoners of war including both soldiers and civilians were kept in the guardroom. One of the prisoners, John Zephaniah Holwell, claimed that the conditions in the guardroom, which measured 14 by 18 ft (4.3 by 5.5 m), were so cramped that of the 146 prisoners, 123 died from heat stroke, suffocation and trampling. It is known that there were between 64 and 69 British soldiers captured, but the number of civilians in the fort at the time is unknown, as is the number of the Anglo-Indian soldiers, or 'Portuguese' as those of mixed race were often known before 1850. It is now thought that the number of deaths was greatly exaggerated, or possibly even fabricated altogether.

Holwell apparently erected a tablet on the site of the Black Hole to commemorate the victims, but this disappeared, and when Lord Curzon became the Vice-Roy in 1889, he commissioned a new monument, which was erected at the corner of Dalhousie Square (now BBD Bagh) in 1901. It became a local focus of the nationalist movement in the run-up to Indian Indepence, and was removed in July 1940. It was re-erected in St John's churchyard where it stands today.

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Job Charnock is traditionally credited with being the founder of Calcutta, and although there were Bengali villages situated in the area before his arrival in India in the 1650s, it was the establishment of a factory and headquarters of the English East India Company here in 1690 that caused Calcutta to grow steadily until it became a city, and the capital of the British Empire in India.
Charnock, who was the company's chief agent in Bengal, had taken a Indian widow as his common-law wife (possibly rescuing her from the practice of sati, or burning on the funeral pyre of her late husband), and they had 4 children - one son and three daughters. Charnock died in Calcutta on 10th January 1692, and his successor and son-in-law, Sir Charles Eyre, erected a mausoleum over his grave in 1695.

This mausoleum now stands in the graveyard of St John's Church, and the translation of the Latin epitaph (pictured, 2nd photo) reads:

"In the hands of God Almighty, Job Charnock, English knight and recently the most worthy agent of the English in this Kingdom of Bengal, left his mortal remains under this marble so that he might sleep in the hope of a blessed resurrection at the coming of Christ the Judge. After he had journeyed onto foreign soil he returned after a little while to his eternal home on the 10th day of January 1692. By his side lies Mary, first-born daughter of Job, and dearest wife of Charles Eyre, the English prefect in these parts. She died on 19 February AD 1696–7."

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Originally Calcutta's cathedral church, and possibly the 2nd oldest church in the city, St John's was begun in the 1780s to commemorate the victims of the First Afghan War. The land on which St John’s is built was donated by a Maharaja Nabo Kishen Bahadur, and the foundation stone was laid by the Governor General, Warren Hastings, on April 6th, 1784. Designed by Lieutenant James Agg of the Bengal Engineers, it was based on St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, but due to poor soil, the spire was shortened to prevent subsidence, leaving off the entire fourth tier, leaving it only 174ft high. The church was completed by 1787.

Inside the church are memorial tablets of prominent citizens of the British in Calcutta, as can be seen in the second photo.

I will describle the two monuments in the graveyard separately as they are worth their own tips.

The Ochterlony Monument, standing 48m high on the north side of the Maidan, was erected in 1828 in honour of Sir David Ochterlony who was the commander of the British East India Company's troops in the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-1816. It is an odd combination of architectural styles with a classical looking pedestal and column topped by two balconies and a cap reminiscent of those from a minaret. It was renamed Shaheed Minar (Tower for the Martyrs) in 1969.

Fort William, next to the Hooghly, was originally built by the British East India Company between 1701 and 1706, and was named after King William III of England. This was the site of the infamous (if debateable) Black Hole of Calcutta, in 1756, where it was claimed 123 British prisoners died of suffocation and crushing after the fort was taken by the Nawab of Bengal - this event may have been exaggerated or even entirely fabricated by the surviving defenders. Following the Battle of Plassey in 1757 a new fort was begun by the British, completed by 1781. This new fort is still in use by the Indian Army, and can only be visited by civilians by special appointment.

The Maidan (which means 'open field') began as a clearing of the jungle around Fort William to form a parade ground for the troops and to open up a path to the river Hooghly. It is now the largest urban park in Kolkata, covering around 3 square km, and is known as the lungs of the city. To the southern end of the Maidan stands the Victoria Memorial, and the park also contains the oldest golf club outside of the UK, and is also home to several cricket and football clubs.

As well as being a place to stroll, enjoy sports, or take carriage rides, many people of Calcutta carry out their chores here too - you can see washermen and shepherds with their flocks among others. Reminders of the Maidan's original military purpose still exist, as can be seen from the tank in the photo.

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The Victoria Memorial was built as a memorial to Queen Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India, and also as a tribute to the success of the British Empire in India. It was designed by Sir William Emerson, who incorporated Mughal elements into the plan, and was constructed between 1906 and 1921.

It contains a museum and art gallery containing artefacts and paintings relating to the reign of Queen Victoria and to the British Raj in India. Sadly, on the two occasions we tried to visit, the museum was closed, but we did get to enjoy a wander around some of the lovely gardens surrounding the building, only a part of the 64 acres.

The gardens are open 5.30am to 7pm, and cost 4INR to enter. The Museum costs 150INR for foreigners, and is open 10am to 5pm, but is closed on all Mondays and some holidays (such as Holi, probably why it was closed when we went!).

Built between 1839 and 1847, the Cathedral was designed by Major William Nairn Forbes in the Gothic Revival style, basing the tower and spire on that of Norwich Cathedral. Following the earthquake of 1934, the tower was rebuilt and was this time modelled on the Bell Harry Tower of Canterbury Cathedral. The Cathedral's founder, Bishop Daniel Wilson, is buried here.

My main reason for wanting to visit the Cathedral was for the stained glass window by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, which for any fan of pre-raphaelite art is a wonderful treat. It was apparently designed in 1874, in honour of Lord Mayo (the British Vice-Roy of India) who was assasinated in the Andaman Islands in 1872. It depicts Enoch, Elijah and St Thomas among others.

The Cathedral is open for visits between 9am and 12pm, and 3-6pm, and is free to enter.