সেন্ট পল গির্জার লাগাও বিরজী তালাও, ১৮৬৫
The view of the cathedral looking across the Birjee Tank (Birjee is the adjective of Braja. Brij or Brajbhoomi is considered to be the land of Lord Krishna) on the south-east corner of the Maidan. Dihi Birjee was bounded by the Burial Ground Road (now known as Park Street) on the north, Maratha Ditch (Lower Circular or Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road) on the south, Race Course on the west and the unfinished portion of Maratha Ditch on the east.
The St Paul’s Cathedral was designed in the Indo-Gothic style by William F Forbes. Forbes, a military engineer who was later promoted to Major General, was also responsible for the design of the old Calcutta Mint where he held the post of Mint Master for a time. Construction of the cathedral began in 1839, when the foundation stone was laid by Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta, and completed in 1847. The tall central spire and square tower beneath were inspired by a similar feature at the twelfth century cathedral in Canterbury, England. The upper portion of the tower, which originally reached a height of sixty-one metres, was destroyed in an earthquake in 1934.
Source: ‘Photographs of India and Overland Route’ by Oscar Mallitte in 1865.
PURONOKOLKATA 