Visit to Fort St.George, Chennai
Venkatarangan and Maniam in front of Lord Cornwallis Statue in Fort Museum Chennai
Though I have been to Tamil Nadu Government Old Secretariat (which is inside Fort St.George campus) few times, I haven’t had time during those visits to explore the historic places. Today I had few hours to spare and I decided to see around the Fort, both the Fort Museum and St.Mary’s Church which are open to the public. The old assembly and other buildings are off limits to the general public. To enter Fort St.George as a visitor, you need to clear security at the entrance (takes 15–20 minutes) as still government departments are functioning there and haven’t yet moved to the new Secretariat campus.
Fort Museum is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India and you need to pay Rs.5 (for Indians) and Rs.100 (for others), it houses artefacts from British, French and Mysore ruler’s days. Remember it is closed on every Friday. Quite interesting.
St. Mary’s Church is the oldest Anglican church in India. It was built in 1678–80 AD. It maintains oldest marriage registries and a panoramic photograph of Chennai dating few centuries — fascinating to see these.
Saint Mary’s Marriage Register — First entry is for Elihu Yale, who gave his name to Yale University, USA
Venkatarangan in St.Mary’s Church, Madras
I will recommend every resident of Chennai & visitor to this great city should visit Fort St.George where it all began in the 1600s.
Originally published at Venkatarangan Thirumalai blog.