The
story of the remnants of a fort built by the British in the late 18th century
to protect them from Napoleon’s Grande Armée. Today, it lies next to a public
toilet.
Situated barely half a kilometre south-east
of the busiest railway station in Mumbai—the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
(CST)—which hosts one lakh passengers daily, lies a small stone structure,
barely 50 feet in length. This structure is flanked by the multi-speciality St
George’s Hospital on one side and the bustling Indira Dock on the other. However,
regardless of its rather populated surroundings, not many people know that this
structure—built in the late 18th century—was once part of the mile-long Fort
that guarded the city’s eastern shoreline.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which comprises of the city of Mumbai and its satellite towns in the neighbouring Thane and Raigad districts, is home to around 20 forts—some as much as 500-years-old. The seven islands of Bombay (as the city was called earlier) were once protected by these forts, mostly constructed by the Portuguese and the British. Built with primitive tools, the remnants of these once sturdy structures can still be seen today despite of shoddy conservation work done by heritage and infrastructure bodies. This involves plastering the stone walls with a cement-concrete mixture which is in total violation of the rules of conservation.
Be as it may, structures such as the Bandra Fort, the Vasai Fort and the Worli Fort are at least known to the residents of Mumbai. However, there are some which are totally oblivious to the city and its 12 million residents. Some, don't even have an official name.
It is interesting to note that this 50X3 neighbour of CST is, since 1992, the headquarters of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of the state of Maharashtra. Dr Chetan Sali, a senior architect with the department said that the state took control of the structure from the Public Works Department (PWD) 20 years ago. Since then, it has just been known as the state archaeology HQ and has no official name. "It (the structure) is just referred to as killa (fort) by the locals," said Dr Sali. "But since it is flanked by St George’s Hospital, it is also called St George's Fort. However, the fort was constructed much before the hospital,” he added.
So what is the story of this St George's Fort?
According to John Murray's A Handbook For India, the fort was built by the British in 1769 in place of the erstwhile Dongri Fort, which went right up to the Masjid Bunder area. B.V. Kulkarni, technical advisor of the state archaeology department, in his book titled Mumbai Parisaratil Kille (Forts of the Mumbai Area), said that the fort was built by the British as a precautionary measure to protect themselves from any attack by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Even in the presence of the Bombay Castle (now Manor House) and the erstwhile Fort, the British felt that there was a need for a fort towards the east of the coast. "This fort initially covered the area from present-day CST to the Masjid Bunder, which is about a mile in length," said Mayur Thakre, another archaeologist.
However, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the British felt there was no reason to have such a big fort. Sir Barter Fryer, a general in the British Army, razed down the fort between 1862 and 1865, save for the small portion that exists today. Between 1889 and 1892, the St George's Hospital was built here. During this period, according to Kulkarni's book, the fort underwent several structural changes while the British built ports and railways around the area. In the post-independence era, residential quarters were built in the hospital premises for its employees. New roads were constructed to facilitate vehicles. Slowly, the tactfully built St George's Fort began to lose its prominence.
Even though the entire fort isn't present today, according to archaeologists, it has Portuguese-style architecture with round domes and arched entrances. The gangways are on the south, west and east sides, while there is a small room at the north. There is a marked difference between the architecture of the outer walls and the inner walls. The outer walls are thick towards the bottom and become thinner as you go upwards, giving it a pyramidal structure—although with a square roof. The roof of the side passages have oblong-shaped domes, while at the centre, the roof is square and gets narrower as you go higher. Inside, however, the walls are right angled.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which comprises of the city of Mumbai and its satellite towns in the neighbouring Thane and Raigad districts, is home to around 20 forts—some as much as 500-years-old. The seven islands of Bombay (as the city was called earlier) were once protected by these forts, mostly constructed by the Portuguese and the British. Built with primitive tools, the remnants of these once sturdy structures can still be seen today despite of shoddy conservation work done by heritage and infrastructure bodies. This involves plastering the stone walls with a cement-concrete mixture which is in total violation of the rules of conservation.
Be as it may, structures such as the Bandra Fort, the Vasai Fort and the Worli Fort are at least known to the residents of Mumbai. However, there are some which are totally oblivious to the city and its 12 million residents. Some, don't even have an official name.
It is interesting to note that this 50X3 neighbour of CST is, since 1992, the headquarters of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of the state of Maharashtra. Dr Chetan Sali, a senior architect with the department said that the state took control of the structure from the Public Works Department (PWD) 20 years ago. Since then, it has just been known as the state archaeology HQ and has no official name. "It (the structure) is just referred to as killa (fort) by the locals," said Dr Sali. "But since it is flanked by St George’s Hospital, it is also called St George's Fort. However, the fort was constructed much before the hospital,” he added.
So what is the story of this St George's Fort?
According to John Murray's A Handbook For India, the fort was built by the British in 1769 in place of the erstwhile Dongri Fort, which went right up to the Masjid Bunder area. B.V. Kulkarni, technical advisor of the state archaeology department, in his book titled Mumbai Parisaratil Kille (Forts of the Mumbai Area), said that the fort was built by the British as a precautionary measure to protect themselves from any attack by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Even in the presence of the Bombay Castle (now Manor House) and the erstwhile Fort, the British felt that there was a need for a fort towards the east of the coast. "This fort initially covered the area from present-day CST to the Masjid Bunder, which is about a mile in length," said Mayur Thakre, another archaeologist.
However, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the British felt there was no reason to have such a big fort. Sir Barter Fryer, a general in the British Army, razed down the fort between 1862 and 1865, save for the small portion that exists today. Between 1889 and 1892, the St George's Hospital was built here. During this period, according to Kulkarni's book, the fort underwent several structural changes while the British built ports and railways around the area. In the post-independence era, residential quarters were built in the hospital premises for its employees. New roads were constructed to facilitate vehicles. Slowly, the tactfully built St George's Fort began to lose its prominence.
Even though the entire fort isn't present today, according to archaeologists, it has Portuguese-style architecture with round domes and arched entrances. The gangways are on the south, west and east sides, while there is a small room at the north. There is a marked difference between the architecture of the outer walls and the inner walls. The outer walls are thick towards the bottom and become thinner as you go upwards, giving it a pyramidal structure—although with a square roof. The roof of the side passages have oblong-shaped domes, while at the centre, the roof is square and gets narrower as you go higher. Inside, however, the walls are right angled.
 |
| Gun slits along the walls of the fort |
The most unique feature of this fort is the number of rectangular gun slits that are present on all four sides, which look like long, narrow windows. However, if seen closely, there are two-three slits in one window. According to Kulkarni's book, one slit was used to observe and the other to shoot. These slits were also the source of ventilation and light for the fort; they are still intact, albeit riddled with bird nests and algae.
The fort also has underground cellars, which served multiple purposes. "The cellars used to house prisoners," said Thakre. "However, the British also used it as a passageway to get to the sea via small boats—as an escape route. They had hatched up a plan with the Marathas to provide cover while they escaped to Thane or Panvel," he added. Today, the cellars are secluded from the rest of the structure by a trapdoor.
The St George's Fort, according to Kulkarni, was also used as an ammunition storehouse by the British. This storehouse used to be described as "Fragment of Old Fort Wall". Dr Sali said that there were also rumours of a canon being present on the roof, any traces of which are not to be found today.
It is ironic that such a fort, so strategically built, has been forgotten by the people it once used to protect. Other than the small shanties that lie adjacent to it, not many people in the vicinity even know of its existence. The fort is as good as lost in a corner of the sprawling campus of the St George's Hospital, with no signs or directions whatsoever leading up to it. Even some of the hospital employees have not heard of it. Once you approach it from the west, a blue signboard indicates the presence of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums (Maharashtra State), while another states that the “monument is protected under the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960”and deters passers-by from vandalising it. On the eastern side, along the PD Mello Road, it is flanked by more shanties and a public toilet.
The state archaeology and museums directorate recently, in 2004-05, did restoration work of the structure. However, interestingly, it has no plans of advertising the structure and increasing awareness about it. "We cannot really make it a tourist attraction or a museum because it is just a structure with no artefacts. But since we are using it as an office, at least it is not being left to ruin," said Dr Sali.
