In my previous two blog posts, I have told you about Flagstaff House and Tomb of Lady Canning, in this blog post we will get to see Barrackpore Pak (Latbagan).
Even though Barrackpore was very near to Calcutta it was still primarily used as the summer residence of the Governor-General. The concept of spending the warm months in the hills of Shimla came much later.
A short history of Barrackpore Park Latbagan
In the year 1775, a cantonment was established by the British at Barrackpore. Then of course the name was not Barrackpore and the village where this was established was known as Chanak.
Chanak was a trading post for the local zamindars of Bengal as it was situated right on the banks of the Hooghly River. Chanak along with Nona Chandan Pukur was already a trading post since the 15th century.
The name Barrackpore was derived after the establishment of the “Barrack” and it was Indianized as “Barrackpore”.
Barrackpore witnessed two mutinies the first one in 1824 during the First Burmese War. The native regiment refused to cross the sea on ships as they felt it would hurt their religious beliefs. The mutineers had almost captured the entire Barrackpore and additional reinforcements had to be brought from Dum Dum to suppress this mutiny.
1857 during the great mutiny again Barrackpore was involved before spreading out to the north. And this is also the very place where Mangal Pandey was hanged to death for his part in the mutiny.
Each Governor-General and Viceroy’s added a new element to this estate like the zoo, bridge, fountain, lake, etc.
Barrackpore Government House
On the 1st of February 1801 Marquis Wellesly who was then the Governor-General fell in love with the property and took over this property as his official residence and the Commander in Chief was provided an additional house allowance to vacate this property.
He was however not contempt in living on this building and had great plans of constructing a grand building. So, he proceeded to demolish the original building. He even had a great plan to construct a straight highway from the Government House in Calcutta. He proposed a sum of 50,000 Pounds for the construction of the new building.
During the construction of the new grand house at Barrackpore, he had constructed a temporary residence for himself. The new building was never completed as was constructed till the ground floor. Wellesly resigned left for England in 1805 thus his dream house remained incomplete was later demolished.
As mentioned above that the building that we now see was the temporary residential building that was initially constructed by Wellesly and then extended by others.
The original site where the newly proposed building was getting constructed and later brought down was converted to a Green House by Lord Hastings. The same foundation was used in the construction of the Green House. This later was again demolished and then formed the foundation for the Band Stand.
The temporary house that was built is what was later developed by Sir George Barlow, Lord Hasting, Lord Auckland, Lord Lytton, and Lord Minto by adding different wings and sections to what we now see as the Governor’s residence of Barrackpore.
This was the main building or the seat of power thus sometimes also referred to as the Government House. This was the official summer residence of the Governor-General and the Viceroy.
Wellesly initially built this with three large rooms and a verandah. Sir George Barlow between (1805 – 1807) converted the south side of the verandah into two small rooms. Lord Hastings (1813 – 1823) made some drastic changes by constructing an upper entrance hall and also adding a portico on the northern side.
Further additions were done by Lord Auckland (1835 – 1842) by adding a balcony on the western side. Lord Lytton (1876 – 1880) added the grand exterior staircase on the southern side. Lord Rippon (1880 – 1884) added the wooden porch. With no further addition to the main structure, Lord Minto (1905 – 1910) introduced electricity in the building thus increasing the comfort largely.
Aviary Pond
This was started by Lord Auckland (1835 – 1842)
Minto Fountain
As the name suggests it was started by Lord Minto. This fountain was right in between the Minto Flower Garden.
Barrackpore Bungalows
Previously there were many thatched houses around the park. These were demolished and new ones built by Lord Elgin between 1863 – 1865. This included the Flagstaff House and Honeymoon Lodge.
Bungalow No 2 now serves as the hospital after it got shifted from the Government House.
Bungalow No 3 is the Honeymoon lodge. This was the official residence of the Military Secretary. It got its name as in the year 1835 Hannah More and her husband Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan had spent their honeymoon here in this bungalow.
Currently, this building is the official residence of a senior official of West Bengal Police.
The Great Banyan Tree
The central trunk of the original tree unfortunately does not exist any longer. It got badly damaged during the hurricane Amphan and had to be cut down. But being a Banyan tree even though the main trunk had fallen off it had branched off and the rest of the tree is very much visible.
Contrary to the popular belief Mangal Pandey was not hanged from this tree as this was a residential area for the Barrack officers and their families. As per records his execution had taken place somewhere near the Barrackpore racecourse.
Balustraded Bridge
This magnificent bridge was constructed by Lord Wellesly. This bridge stands over Moti Jheel.
Barrackpore West Gate
This is the gate which is located on the other side of Balustraded Bridge over Moti Jheel.
Barrackpore South Gate
This is no more a functional gate but the main structures are visible. This gate can be seen while you approach Gandhi Ghat.
World War II Huts Barrackpore
Numerous Nissen Huts were built across Barrackpore during WWII to accommodate the American soldiers. Air Transport Command operated from Barrackpore and played a vital role in suppressing the advancing Japanese from the east.
Apart from these, there are numerous water bodies and buildings but those are not for visitors as one has to remember that this is a functional training institute and you have residential quarters and training facilities.
How to visit Barrackpore Park
This portion of Barrackpore Park is part ofthe West Bengal Police Training Academy (Swami Vivekananda Police Training Academy). You would need prior permission from them to visit these places.
Location of Barrackpore Park on Map
Other Blogs on Barrackpore Park
Flagstaff House
Tomb of Lady Canning
St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral Barrackpore
Places To Visit Around Barrackpore
Barrackpore Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves
Resources
Times of India
West Bengal Heritage Commission
SDO Barrackpore
The Story Of Government House by N. V. H. Symons