You can love your wife to the ends of the world but that does not guarantee that the same feeling and respect will be carried on by others forever. The love and tragedy of Lady Canning can easily be scripted into a movie. You may ask why I call it a tragedy for that to understand you need to go through the blog and understand the situation in its entirety.
Short Bio of Lady Canning
Charlotte Canning was born on the 31st of March 1817 in Paris. Her father was the British ambassador in France so she spent her childhood in Paris before shifting back to England in 1831. She was married to Charles Canning on 5th September 1835.
In 1842 she was appointed as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria. She was very close to the monarch.
When Charles Canning was appointed as the Governor-General to India in 1856 she traveled with her husband to India. It is to be noted that during this period was the famous rebellion of 1857 post which there was a transfer of power from East India Company to the British Crown and Canning became the first Viceroy of India.
The couple did not have any children. She was a prolific painter and had created a vast collection of watercolor landscapes during her stay in India.
She preferred to stay in Barrackpore instead of Calcutta, she preferred the quiet life at Barrackpore instead of the hustle-bustle of the city life in Calcutta.
Death of Lady Canning
Lady Canning loved to travel and with her prolific hobby of watercolor painting, she would visit new places to capture them in her paintings. She was supposed to return to England along with her husband and just before leaving she decided to visit the hills of Darjeeling. On her return journey to Calcutta, she fell ill, it was later diagnosed as Malaria.
It is to be noted that back then there was no treatment for Malaria as such and people survived if they could withstand the infection with their immunity. She died at midnight on the 18th of November 1861 at the Government House in Calcutta.
That very night her body inside a coffin carried on a gun carriage which was drawn by six black horses was taken from Calcutta to Barrackpore. Her husband insisted her body be buried at Barrackpore since she loved that place.
The carriage reached Barrackpore in the very early morning hour. The coffin was kept at Government House in Barrackpore and the early hours as the sun was rising her coffin was carried to her final resting place. The spot selected was right next to the Hooghly River a spot where Lady Canning would often stroll and loved.
The coffin was placed inside a masonry vault created beneath the ground. A vaulted gravesite is usually constructed when there is a plan to make that into a permanent structure. This funeral service was conducted by the Archdeacon of Calcutta.
The death of his wife completely broke Earl Canning and for days he would grieve and also kept visiting the gravesite in the early hours.
Earl Canning after her death
Canning left India for England within a few months on 18th March 1862. As fate would have it or for that matter, the bereaved husband did not have to survive long in pain and anguish. He died within a few months after reaching England on 17th June 1861 and was buried in England at Westminster Abbey.
Before his death, while he was still in India, he had written the epitaph for his wife.
“Honors and praises written on a tomb are at best a vail glory; but that her charity, humility, meekness, and watchful faith in her Saviour will, for the Saviour’s sake, be accepted of God, and be to her a glory everlasting, is the firm trust of those who knew her best, and most dearly loved her in life, and who cherish the memory of her, departed. Sacred to the Memory of Charlotte Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Lord Stuart De Rothsay, wife of Charles John, Viscount and Earl Canning, first Viceroy of India. Born at Paris 31st March 1817. Died at Calcutta 18th November 1861.”
Tomb of Lady Canning in Barrackpore
Be it a church or a burial ground it needs to be blessed and made sacred for that reason the burial site was consecrated by none other than Bishop Cotton himself. This ceremony was done while Earl Canning was in India just before departing for England.
The tomb site was demarcated by an iron railing which had the initial CC in them to resemble “Charlotte Canning”. The marble tomb which was carved from stones from Agra was designed by Lady Canning’s sister Louisa Lady Waterford.
The design was similar to what you see in the Taj Mahal. The marble base has carved mosaic slots which are then ornamented. Unfortunately, due to the weather of Calcutta and the proximity to the river, the excessive moisture seems to have been damaging the tomb.
Initially, a canopy was constructed over the tomb to protect it in 1873. The initial top cover was a temporary shed which later was changed to a canopy.
It was then decided to shift the original tomb casing marble slabs to St. Paul’s Cathedral in Calcutta and instead a simpler replica was created for the original tomb in Barrackpore. When the colonial statues were removed from the streets of Calcutta after independence the statue of Charles Johan Earl Canning was shifted to Barrackpore and aptly placed right opposite the tomb of Lady Canning in Barrackpore.
Tomb of Lady Canning in Kolkata
The new location however caused many difficulties at St. Paul’s Cathedral as that occupied an entire room that was towards the south. There was a need to create a small chapel within the church and the tomb was occupying a large space inside the church. It was then decided to shift the original tomb to St. Johns Church in Kolkata instead in 1913.
Necessary approval was taken from the Canning family and it was shifted. If you visit St. Johns Church you can still see the original tomb on the north side. The tomb does not encase any human remains as the original place of burial for Lady Canning remains at Barrackpore the place she loved so much.
How to Visit Lady Canning Tomb in Barrackpore
The location of the tomb is within the West Bengal Police Training Academy (Swami Vivekananda Police Training Academy) thus you would need prior permission for entering the restricted area. Previously one could access this place from Gandhi Ghat but post pandemic that road remains closed.
Location of Lady Canning Tomb in Barrackpore
Location of the original Tomb structures in Kolkata
Resources
Getty Images – John Edward Saché Collection
British Library – UK
National Portrait Gallery – London
British Government in India by George Nathaniel Curzon
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Times of India
The Hindu
Anadabazar Patrika
Other Blog Post on Barrackpore
Flagstaff House Barrackpore
Canning House – Port Canning
Barrackpore Park Latbagan
St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral Barrackpore
Places To Visit Around Barrackpore
Barrackpore Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves