This summer residence of the Governor-General in Barrackpore was designed by Captain Thomas Anbury, in English Rennaissance style. The watercolour painting was made by Charles Ramus Forrest.
Barrackpore is located 14 miles from Calcutta and was originally a permanent barracks. When Marques Wellesley took over the Commander-in-Chief’s residence in 1801, he decided to make improvements to the area. He created a summer residence for future Governor-Generals and he landscaped the gardens while adding an aviary, a menagerie and a theatre. As a result, Barrackpore Park became a popular place for leisure pursuits. The house was used as a country retreat and originally had three large rooms opening onto a verandah. Sir George Barlow, Governor-General from 1805-1807, converted the verandah into a series of smaller rooms. In 1814-15, the building was extended by the addition of a new storey by the Marquis of Hastings. George, Viscount Valentia, in his Voyages and Travels, Volume 1 (1811), described the house as being: “pleasing, well adapted to the climate and the rooms on a very ample scale.”
Barrackpore is located 14 miles from Calcutta and was originally a permanent barracks. When Marques Wellesley took over the Commander-in-Chief’s residence in 1801, he decided to make improvements to the area. He created a summer residence for future Governor-Generals and he landscaped the gardens while adding an aviary, a menagerie and a theatre. As a result, Barrackpore Park became a popular place for leisure pursuits. The house was used as a country retreat and originally had three large rooms opening onto a verandah. Sir George Barlow, Governor-General from 1805-1807, converted the verandah into a series of smaller rooms. In 1814-15, the building was extended by the addition of a new storey by the Marquis of Hastings. George, Viscount Valentia, in his Voyages and Travels, Volume 1 (1811), described the house as being: “pleasing, well adapted to the climate and the rooms on a very ample scale.”