Photos of Bombay in 1857
Figure 1. The Esplanade, Bombay 1857.
Please click on this image and later ones for larger images.
Please click on this image and later ones for larger images.
Did you know – an Esplanade is a vast open land or Maidan, in Portuguese times it was covered with dense coconut grove.
Marine Battalion, Esplanade.
Lithograph of the Marine Battalion at the Esplanade by Jose M. Gonsalves (fl. 1826-c.1842). Plate 4 from his 'Lithographic Views of Bombay' published in Bombay in 1826. Gonsalves, thought to be of Goan origin, was one of the first artists to practice lithography in Bombay and specialised in topographical views of the city. In 1772, the English feared an attack on Bombay by the French and cleared a semi-circular area of land around the fort to provide a clear line of fire. This area was known as the Esplanade. In the southern section of this area, there was a parade ground known as Marine Lines. This view shows a battalion soldiers on parade with military bungalows in the background
'Bombay Esplanade from our(soldier's) Tents. March 1870'.
Lithograph of the Marine Battalion at the Esplanade by Jose M. Gonsalves (fl. 1826-c.1842). Plate 4 from his 'Lithographic Views of Bombay' published in Bombay in 1826. Gonsalves, thought to be of Goan origin, was one of the first artists to practice lithography in Bombay and specialised in topographical views of the city. In 1772, the English feared an attack on Bombay by the French and cleared a semi-circular area of land around the fort to provide a clear line of fire. This area was known as the Esplanade. In the southern section of this area, there was a parade ground known as Marine Lines. This view shows a battalion soldiers on parade with military bungalows in the background
'Bombay Esplanade from our(soldier's) Tents. March 1870'.
Panoramic View Of Colaba & Esplanade Bombay, 1907 Postcard with British marine=navy tents on marine drive area
Bird's Eye View of the Esplanade, Bombay with British marine=navy tents on marine drive area
Esplanade Road Now Mahatma Gandhi Road Bombay, 1877 Photo
An 1877 photo of Esplanade Road now known as Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bombay (Mumbai). This photo shows a rare view of an undeveloped Esplanade Road from its early days. Lined with shady trees on both sides street, which is now probably one of the nucleus roads of Mumbai today. Bartle Frere the Bombay Governor decided to remove the Fort walls, the demolition took place in 1862.
The main streets: Esplanade Road, Rampart Row (K. Dubash Marg), and Hornby Road (Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road) were planned along the course of the demolished fort walls. The British officials planned an impressive line of public and government buildings along the Esplanade. Mostly in a Neo-Gothic style, on a scale that was unheard of in Bombay’s past. Some of them are the Bombay University building, Prince of Wales Museum, Royal Institute of Science, etc. Then the Flora Fountain, and the Oriental Building. Click on the photo for better view.
JOHN WATSON(WATSON HOTEL) Jamshetji Tata(TAJ HOTEL), HOTELS ,DINNERS,PARTIES,DANCES,PLACES OF ENTERTAINMENT -BOMBAY 19TH CENTURY
JOHN WATSON OF WATSON HOTEL BOMBAY VS Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the Tata Group, opened the TajMahal Palace & Tower, the first Taj property, on December 16, 1903. He was inspired to open the grand luxury hotel after an incident involving racial discrimination at the Watson's Hotel in Mumbai, where he was refused entry as the hotel did not permit Indians.Hotels which accepted only European guests were common across British India . However, this story has been challenged by some commentators that suggest that Tata was unlikely to have been concerned with 'revenge' against his British adversaries.
On Mahatma Gandhi (formerly Esplanade) Road: the Army and Navy Building, formerly a department store but now offices for Tata Consulting;
{on the right, the edge of the former Watson's Hotel, crushed by the Taj OFFICE}
VINTAGE PHOTO OF ABOVE
A Brief History of Watson's Hotel, India's Oldest Cast-Iron Building
About the Event Some thought it resembled a birdcage, some a skeleton, but Watson’s Esplanade Hotel was undoubtedly Bombay’s first grand hotel. This Sunday, Bombay Vintage in collaboration with Bombaywalla brings to you a guided walk around Bombay’s first grand hotel. Expressly designed as a first class hotel with upwards of 120 rooms and a steam lift, Watson’s was conceived in the 1860s along with the grand structures it stands alongside- the University, the High Court, and the Secretariat.
JOHN WATSON OF WATSON HOTEL BOMBAY VS Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the Tata Group, opened the TajMahal Palace & Tower, the first Taj property, on December 16, 1903. He was inspired to open the grand luxury hotel after an incident involving racial discrimination at the Watson's Hotel in Mumbai, where he was refused entry as the hotel did not permit Indians.Hotels which accepted only European guests were common across British India . However, this story has been challenged by some commentators that suggest that Tata was unlikely to have been concerned with 'revenge' against his British adversaries.
On Mahatma Gandhi (formerly Esplanade) Road: the Army and Navy Building, formerly a department store but now offices for Tata Consulting;
{on the right, the edge of the former Watson's Hotel, crushed by the Taj OFFICE}
VINTAGE PHOTO OF ABOVE
A Brief History of Watson's Hotel, India's Oldest Cast-Iron Building
About the Event
On Mahatma Gandhi (formerly Esplanade) Road: the Army and Navy Building, formerly a department store but now offices for Tata Consulting;
{on the right, the edge of the former Watson's Hotel, crushed by the Taj OFFICE}
VINTAGE PHOTO OF ABOVE
A Brief History of Watson's Hotel, India's Oldest Cast-Iron Building
Some thought it resembled a birdcage, some a skeleton, but Watson’s Esplanade Hotel was undoubtedly Bombay’s first grand hotel. This Sunday, Bombay Vintage in collaboration with Bombaywalla brings to you a guided walk around Bombay’s first grand hotel. Expressly designed as a first class hotel with upwards of 120 rooms and a steam lift, Watson’s was conceived in the 1860s along with the grand structures it stands alongside- the University, the High Court, and the Secretariat.
watson hotel bombay UNDER CONSTRUCTION
watson hotel bombay 1863 Bombay's first 'STAR' hotel
Now known as esplanade mansions is India's oldest surviving cast iron building,fabricated in England ,shipped to India, ,JOHN WATSON opened this whites only hotel with 130 guest rooms,bar,restaurant,employed English waitresses in ball room.famous guests included Mark twain.The first movie film by the Lumiere brothers in India was shown here ,seen only by white people.Rumours that industrialist TATA was denied entrance into the white only hotel and he retaliated by opening the TAJ hotel in 1903 .
TATA FAMILY
IN 1960 the building was sold to private owner and now in bad condition.
Now known as esplanade mansions is India's oldest surviving cast iron building,fabricated in England ,shipped to India, ,JOHN WATSON opened this whites only hotel with 130 guest rooms,bar,restaurant,employed English waitresses in ball room.famous guests included Mark twain.The first movie film by the Lumiere brothers in India was shown here ,seen only by white people.Rumours that industrialist TATA was denied entrance into the white only hotel and he retaliated by opening the TAJ hotel in 1903 .
TATA FAMILY
IN 1960 the building was sold to private owner and now in bad condition.
TATA FAMILY
IN 1960 the building was sold to private owner and now in bad condition.
Esplanade Road ERA ABOUT 1880-NO MOTOR VEHICLES-NO ELECTRIC TRAMS ONLY HORSE TRAMS
Esplanade Road ; Flora Fountain ; Hutatma Chowk ; Bombay ; Mumbai-1920
BOMBAY,FROM WATSON'S HOTEL .Date: Between 1850s to 1870s Whole Plate Albumen Print from Wet Collodion Glass Negative Maker: Francis Frith
'Bombay - The Esplanade and Colaba in the distance. March 1870 (from the top of Watson's Hotel).--Artist: Lester, John Frederick (1825-1915)-Date: 1871-
HORNBYROAD RENAMED The Dadabhai Naoroji Road was earlier called the Hornby Road, after William Hornby, who was Governor of Bombay from 1771 to 1784 under the British East India Company
now
Photos of Bombay in 1857
Figure 1. The Esplanade, Bombay 1857.
Please click on this image and later ones for larger images.
Bombay - The Esplanade and Colaba in the distance. March 1870 (from the top of Watson's Hotel).--Artist: Lester, John Frederick (1825-1915)-Date: 1871
Please click on this image and later ones for larger images.
Bombay - The Esplanade and Colaba in the distance. March 1870 (from the top of Watson's Hotel).--Artist: Lester, John Frederick (1825-1915)-Date: 1871
Marine Battalion, Esplanade.
Lithograph of the Marine Battalion at the Esplanade by Jose M. Gonsalves (fl. 1826-c.1842). Plate 4 from his 'Lithographic Views of Bombay' published in Bombay in 1826. Gonsalves, thought to be of Goan origin, was one of the first artists to practice lithography in Bombay and specialised in topographical views of the city. In 1772, the English feared an attack on Bombay by the French and cleared a semi-circular area of land around the fort to provide a clear line of fire. This area was known as the Esplanade. In the southern section of this area, there was a parade ground known as Marine Lines. This view shows a battalion soldiers on parade with military bungalows in the background
'Bombay Esplanade from our(soldier's) Tents. March 1870'.[MALABAR HILL WITH JUST A FEW BUNGALOWS AND GOVERNOR'S BUNGALOW can be seen ]
EsplanadeNOW
The following photographs of Bombay were taken either by, or for Captain Charles Barton of the Bombay Artillery.
Charles had been serving with the Expeditionary Force which had landed in Persia in 1856. While on that expedition, he or one of his colleagues had acquired a camera.
The expeditionary force started to leave Persia in May 1857 to return to India. It is not clear on which of the ships Charles and his fellow officers came back on, but it is probable that these photos were taken between June and December 1857.
The first photo suggests that the returning troops were at first unable to find room in the barracks or hotels in Bombay, so that they had set up camps inside gardens of bungalows along the Esplanade. The two tents are identical to those in the photo taken of his camp at Bushire earlier that year.
Lithograph of the Marine Battalion at the Esplanade by Jose M. Gonsalves (fl. 1826-c.1842). Plate 4 from his 'Lithographic Views of Bombay' published in Bombay in 1826. Gonsalves, thought to be of Goan origin, was one of the first artists to practice lithography in Bombay and specialised in topographical views of the city. In 1772, the English feared an attack on Bombay by the French and cleared a semi-circular area of land around the fort to provide a clear line of fire. This area was known as the Esplanade. In the southern section of this area, there was a parade ground known as Marine Lines. This view shows a battalion soldiers on parade with military bungalows in the background
'Bombay Esplanade from our(soldier's) Tents. March 1870'.[MALABAR HILL WITH JUST A FEW BUNGALOWS AND GOVERNOR'S BUNGALOW can be seen ]
Esplanade and Bandstand, Bombay.--Photographer: Unknown Medium: Photographic print Date: 1855
photograph of the Esplanade and Bandstand, Bombay from the 'Vibart Collection of Views in South India' taken by an unknown photographer about 1855. After the fall of the Portuguese fort of Bassein in 1739, an Esplanade and parade ground was cleared from the walls of the Bombay fort almost upto present day Crawford Market. People sometimes drove around the esplanade in the evenings as a form of relaxation or simply sat around relaxing. In the early part of the 20th century, tents for showing films were pitched here.-EsplanadeNOW
The following photographs of Bombay were taken either by, or for Captain Charles Barton of the Bombay Artillery.
Charles had been serving with the Expeditionary Force which had landed in Persia in 1856. While on that expedition, he or one of his colleagues had acquired a camera.
The expeditionary force started to leave Persia in May 1857 to return to India. It is not clear on which of the ships Charles and his fellow officers came back on, but it is probable that these photos were taken between June and December 1857.
The first photo suggests that the returning troops were at first unable to find room in the barracks or hotels in Bombay, so that they had set up camps inside gardens of bungalows along the Esplanade. The two tents are identical to those in the photo taken of his camp at Bushire earlier that year.
Figure 2. The Adelphi Hotel Bombay. Dec 1857.
This hotel is believed to have been at Byculla.
This hotel is believed to have been at Byculla.
The expeditionary force returned to India expecting to move into Cantonments where they could recuperate after a long and gruelling campaign in the heat and the dust of the Gulf.
As the first ships pulled into Bombay they were greeted with the news that the Bengal Presidency Army had mutinied, and that it was very probable that the Bombay Army might do so at any moment.
General Havelock, the expeditionary force commander. and the European Regiments were almost immediately re-embarked on steamers for the voyage to Calcutta, where Havelock was to take over command of the relief forces moving inland up the Ganges.
It must have been a time of extraordinary fear and tension.
Charles Barton at this time was a staff officer working with several batteries and he seems to have spent several weeks and possibly longer in Bombay. During this time most of the balance of the troops returned from Persia were moving up the Ghats and inland towards Ahmednugger.
It appears likely that by December 1857 Charles had moved into the Adelphi Hotel. He had married Elizabeth Birch in November 1854, and it appears from the locations where her children were born that she was living at Ahmednuggur at this time. Nuggur was of course highly exposed in the event of the mutiny spreading, and he was on the coast.
Their third daughter Lily was born on July 27th 1858 "at our house at Nuggur", when Charles was away with the expeditionary force, and it is quite probable that the upheavals of the Mutiny period contributed to her death on the 31st of July 1859. It appears that it was some kind of epidemic that carried her off, because Emily, her younger sister born on 19th July 1859 died on the 6th of August 1859, just a week after her elder sister.
It is possible that Charles move from a camp on the sea front to the Adelphi Hotel was because his wife had come down from Nuggur to avoid the danger of her being attacked in Nuggur.
While in Bombay, Charles who had been born on the 22nd of April 1827 at Matoonga near Bombay took the opportunity to visit locations formerly lived in by his parents.
Charles father, Captain James Barton had also been a Bombay Artillery Officer. In May 1822 he had married Eliza Hawkins, and Charles was their fourth child.
Shortly after Charles was born, his father had become Agent for Gunpowder and Superintendent of Factory, on the 1st of October 1827, a post which he held until the 19th of May 1829 when he died at Matoonga.
James was buried in the church at Matoonga, and his fellow officers put up a plaque to his memory. I have no idea if the church survives, and I would be very grateful if anybody can tell if it is still there.
Charles and his widowed mother returned to Britain, where he was brought up. Much later in his will, Charles would write of being tortured throughout his adult life by having no idea of what his father had looked like. He left strict instructions that pictures should be passed on to his youngest children to avoid this happening to them. Which probably accounts both for the existence of the following pictures as Charles visits the former home of his parents.
As the first ships pulled into Bombay they were greeted with the news that the Bengal Presidency Army had mutinied, and that it was very probable that the Bombay Army might do so at any moment.
Figure 3. Temple at the Byculla Station Bombay.
This temple was close to the Adelphi Hotel shown above.
This temple was close to the Adelphi Hotel shown above.
General Havelock, the expeditionary force commander. and the European Regiments were almost immediately re-embarked on steamers for the voyage to Calcutta, where Havelock was to take over command of the relief forces moving inland up the Ganges.
It must have been a time of extraordinary fear and tension.
Charles Barton at this time was a staff officer working with several batteries and he seems to have spent several weeks and possibly longer in Bombay. During this time most of the balance of the troops returned from Persia were moving up the Ghats and inland towards Ahmednugger.
It appears likely that by December 1857 Charles had moved into the Adelphi Hotel. He had married Elizabeth Birch in November 1854, and it appears from the locations where her children were born that she was living at Ahmednuggur at this time. Nuggur was of course highly exposed in the event of the mutiny spreading, and he was on the coast.
Their third daughter Lily was born on July 27th 1858 "at our house at Nuggur", when Charles was away with the expeditionary force, and it is quite probable that the upheavals of the Mutiny period contributed to her death on the 31st of July 1859. It appears that it was some kind of epidemic that carried her off, because Emily, her younger sister born on 19th July 1859 died on the 6th of August 1859, just a week after her elder sister.
It is possible that Charles move from a camp on the sea front to the Adelphi Hotel was because his wife had come down from Nuggur to avoid the danger of her being attacked in Nuggur.
Figure 4. Captain Charles James Barton.
While in Bombay, Charles who had been born on the 22nd of April 1827 at Matoonga near Bombay took the opportunity to visit locations formerly lived in by his parents.
Charles father, Captain James Barton had also been a Bombay Artillery Officer. In May 1822 he had married Eliza Hawkins, and Charles was their fourth child.
Shortly after Charles was born, his father had become Agent for Gunpowder and Superintendent of Factory, on the 1st of October 1827, a post which he held until the 19th of May 1829 when he died at Matoonga.
James was buried in the church at Matoonga, and his fellow officers put up a plaque to his memory. I have no idea if the church survives, and I would be very grateful if anybody can tell if it is still there.
Charles and his widowed mother returned to Britain, where he was brought up. Much later in his will, Charles would write of being tortured throughout his adult life by having no idea of what his father had looked like. He left strict instructions that pictures should be passed on to his youngest children to avoid this happening to them. Which probably accounts both for the existence of the following pictures as Charles visits the former home of his parents.
Figure 5. The Old Artillery Mess, Matoonga Bombay, Dec 1857.
This building is quite possibly where his father had lived and worked. Does it survive today?
Figure 6. The Old Fives Courts, Matoongha Bombay. Dec 1857.
Fives - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fives
Most schools where fives is played have only one type of court but three schools have historically had both Eton and Rugby courts - Cheltenham, Dover and ...Did his father play Fives?
I used to play it without much enthusiasm at my school. I wonder, if I might have tried harder, if I had known my great great great grandfather had played it too?
I used to play it without much enthusiasm at my school. I wonder, if I might have tried harder, if I had known my great great great grandfather had played it too?
Figure 7. Pattinars, Bombay. 1857.
Bombay was a much smaller place in 1857 than it is today. Much of present day Bombay was under water in 1857. Here are a number of Indian trading vessels laid up at low water. I would be very grateful to any body with good local knowledge of Bombay who could help me locate where these pictures were taken. Sadly, I have never been to Mumbai, but it is one of the places I would like to visit, although, I expect all traces of these buildings must have gone by now.
Figure 8. A map of Bombay in 1846 showing the location of Matoonga
towards the north east tip of the island..
towards the north east tip of the island..
Figure 9. The Woodstacks Bombay 1857.
Where this was taken, or why he had this picture taken, I can only puzzle at today, but presumably there must have been hundreds of similar stacks in Bombay in those days.
mm
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