St. George Fort

St. George Fort

For a true historical perspective of the bustling city of Chennai, the tourist should visit Fort St. George. The Fort was the first British fortress in India. Legend has it that the East India Company purchased a piece of coastal land, originally called Madraspattinam from a Vijaynagar chieftain named Chennappa Nayaka and began construction of a harbour and a fort. The fort was completed on April 23rd, coinciding with St. George's Day and thus christened Fort St. George. The fort faced the sea and with its surrounding fishing villages soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave birth to a new settlement area called George Town (historically referred to as Black Town), which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras. To keep the outsiders away, a moat was built around the fort and the British named the area inside the moat as "the White Town". Over a period of time Fort St. George helped the British to extend their influence over the Carnatic region The fort, which actually looks more like a mansion than a fort, now houses the Tamil Nadu Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly. Enormous gates lead into the complex. You will get to see a live example of British military architecture of yore. Some of the points of interest here include an old British church, said to be one of the oldest Churches in India. The Lighthouse in the northern compound was originally built in 1844 and superseded in 1971. A small museum in the fort contains archives and records of the British occupation in India, portraits of erstwhile Governors as well as relics of the Raj.