Fort St. George (Chennai)

For other uses, see Fort St. George (disambiguation).

Fort St. George
Part of Tamil Nadu
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Fort St. George, the seat of Government of Tamil Nadu
Fort St. George is located in Chennai
Fort St. George
Fort St. George
Coordinates13°04′47″N 80°17′13″E / 13.079722°N 80.286944°E / 13.079722; 80.286944
TypeForts
Height45 m (148 ft)[citation needed]
Site information
OwnerIndian Army
Controlled byGovernment of Tamil Nadu
ConditionGood
Site history
Built1639; 385 years ago (1639)
Built byBritish East India Company
In useGovernment of Tamil Nadu
Garrison information
OccupantsTamil Nadu Legislative Assembly–Secretariat
Plan of Fort St. George made during the French occupation of 1746–1749, with East at the top
An 18th-century coloured engraving of the fort
Corner of Fort St. George showing the spire of St Mary's Church, where in 1753 Robert Clive married Margaret Maskelyne, the younger sister of the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne.
Photo c. 1905.

Fort St. George (or historically, White Town)[1] is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India.[2] The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land.[3] Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city (formerly named Madras) evolved around the fortress.[4] The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings.

  1. ^ James Talboys Wheeler (1881). The History of India from the Earliest Ages. N. Trübner. pp. 489–.
  2. ^ Roberts, "History of the World" (Penguin, 1994)
  3. ^ Muthiah, S (12 August 2002). "A centenary's links with Chennai". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 October 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2002.
  4. ^ "Fort St George - Fort St. George Chennai, Fort Saint George Chennai Tamil Nadu India". Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2009.