LUCKNOW RESIDENCY

SUBMITTED BY- SUBMITTED TO-

AKANSHA AWASTHI PROF. DEVINA AGARWAL
ANURAG VERMA
MAHAK GUPTA
LUCKNOW RESIDENCY
• The foundation of the famous Residential complex called residency was laid by Nawab Asaf-ud-daula of Awadh in
1775 after the court moved from Faizabad to Lucknow with a view to accommodate the British visitors
•. During the rule of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan (1798-1814), the construction of the main residency building was
completed.
• With growing need, in course of time a number of buildings were added to this complex and thus achieved the
shape of an exclusive European settlement.
• Nawab Saadat Ali Khan also arranged for a special guard of honour of Colonel Baillie in the south-eastern part of
the Residency, with this the portal came to be known as Baillie Guard Gate.
•The unjust annexation of Awadh by the British and Wajid Ali Shah’s exile at Calcutta (7th Feb. 1856) enraged the
people of Awadh with unprecedented fury, the resentment of which was burst into flames on 30th May 1857, when
troops defied the British authority and started the war.
•Under the command of Maulvi Ahmad Ullah Shah, the attack on the Residency began on the 30th June, 1857.
•The site of Residency, lying to south of Gomti river , in a vast area of 33 acres, now consists of ruins of majestic
buildings which give an indication to the various nature of activities within the complex.
• Besides the main Residency building, there was the Sheep house, Slaughter house, Sikh square, Dr.Fayrer’s house,
Banqueting hall, the Treasury house, Begum Kothi the Church, Mosque, Imambara and the native hospital, cemetry,
Ommaney’s house, Brigade mess, etc. that deserve mention.
• The Model Room, a part of the main Residency Building, which housed a model of Residency as it was before the
1857 War, has now been converted into a full-fledged Museum

LUCKNOW RESIDENCY AKANSHA AWASTHI

ANURAG VERMA
MAHAK GUPTA
THE RESIDENCY MAIN BUILDING
• The original building was constructed by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan II and consisted of three
storeys. It was a large brick mansion with wide verandahs, lofty rooms and an imposing
portico.
• The upper floor contained a billiards room and a library. The ground floor consisted a large Spiral staircase inside the turrets
hall, probably used for gatherings and the like, and several smaller rooms. Entrance was from a
portico on the East.
Long columns around portico
• An underground suite of apartment was built for use in hot weather. Spiral stairs inside two
turrets on the north and south sides led to the building’s roof.
• The villa had numerous openings. The Residency was constructed on the highest spot in
Lucknow, and as such, its watchtower located on the North, commanded and excellent view of
the entire city.
• Designed according to model of European Villas with central halls , side rooms, spacious
balconies, flat roof, high pillars, wooden beams, stucco and ornamentation work
Semicirular arch

The Residency Main Building

THE TREASURY
• Entering through the Baillie Guard Gate, the first structure found on the right is the Treasury.
• The building was finished in 1851, and contains Rajput and Awadh style arches.
•Surprisingly, inspite of the heavy shelling, in some sections of the building, the beautiful and
delicate stucco work has survived.
• During the mutiny, a section of the treasury was used for the manufacture of Enfield rifle
cartridges.
• On the wall of the treasury is a beautiful marble plaque, commemorating 52 men of the 13th
Bengal Native Infantry, Garuda Pultun.
• Contrary to what many believe, not every native sepoy mutinied. Many remained loyal to
their colonial masters, often at the cost of their lives.
• During the revolution of 1857, the central part of this building was converted into an
ordinance factory for manufacturing Enfield cartridges.

Use of Iron for Jointing Small Base & Small Capital Decorative Arches Stucco Ornamentation Rajput and Awadh Style Arches Columns Gallery Entrance to the Treasury

LUCKNOW RESIDENCY AKANSHA AWASTHI

ANURAG VERMA
MAHAK GUPTA
THE BAILLIE GUARD GATE
• In the beginning of the nineteenth century, Nawab Saadat Ali Khan arranged for a special guard
of honour for Caption John Bailey in the south-eastern part of the Residency.
• Thus, this portion came to be known as the Bailey Guard Gate.
•Supported by plain double columns, this building is almost square. It consists of one large
rectangular hall and many small chambers.
• Among the Residency’s other gates, Watergate and Naubat Khana do not exist presently. Only Guard Room with Circular
Bailey Guard Gate still remains, but in a ruined state, this rectangular building consists of one column
huge arched gateway.
• There are two guardrooms, one on each side of the gate. Originally, a pair of huge wooden doors
was fixed there. Semicircular Arched Column
• During the 1857 revolt, it suffered heavy damages by cannonade and on its wall could be seen
the marks of cannon shots.
The Baillie Guard Gate

BANQUET HALL
• The Banquet Hall was probably the most imposing building in the entire Residency
complex. Nawab Saadat Ali Khan II had this “Daawat Khana” built and furnished. As the
name suggests, this was meant as a place to entertain guests.
• Expensive chandeliers once adorned it’s high ceilings. Even today, a fireplace may be seen Fireplace
on the first floor, with a marble-like finish.
• The floor however, has long since collapsed, and what you enter will be the basement level,
and hence the fireplace will appear strangely high up on the wall.
• The remnants of a shattered fountain may still be seen, with inlaid marble work in black
and white.
•All around the first floor were wide verandas, and their columns still remain. The building
suffered extensive shelling during the mutiny, and was in use as a field hospital at the time.
Banquet Hall Fountain

DR. FAYRER’S HOUSE

• Across the road from the Banquet Hall stands the house of Sir Joseph Fayrer, political assistant
and Residency surgeon. Among his lasting contributions to medicine were his writings on the
treatment of snakebite in India.
• In 1857, during the mutiny, his house became both a fortress and a hospital. It was in this
house that Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, Chief Commissioner of Oudh, died, on the 4th of Semicircular Arch
July, 1857.
• Lawrence had been injured by a shell exploding in his bedroom as he was resting, and on the
day of his death, Captain Thomas Wilson notes in his diary, “To the great grief of our garrison,
Sir Henry Lawrence died this morning, about 8’o’clock, from the effects of his wound”.
• Dr Fayrer’s house also contained an underground chamber, called Tehkhana, which was used
to shelter the ladies and children from the terrible shelling during the siege.
Dr. Fayrer’s House Flat Façade of the House

LUCKNOW RESIDENCY AKANSHA AWASTHI

ANURAG VERMA
MAHAK GUPTA