Attractions Of Chennai: Fort St. George Museum

Fort St. George Museum:

"Fort St. George, Chennai 2" by L.vivian.richard at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by User:Rcbutcher using CommonsHelper. Photo taken by L.vivian.richard. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

St. George fort, located on the banks of Chennai, is the first British fort built in 1653 by the British East India Company. This fort consists of 20 feet thick wall. The country's tallest flagstaff is here, which may be about 300 years old. The building housing the museum (known as Fort St. George Museum) is one of the oldest surviving buildings built within the fort. The Fort St. George Museum was opened to the public since 31st January 1948. Earlier museum began with a small collection of objects of the British Raj donated by the then Madras Presidency Government, the St. Mary's Church authorities, the disbanded army units and others. Over the years  many objects were obtained by various means and there are now 3661 registered antiquities in the collection. Best among them near about 600 are on display in ten galleries which is a major tourist attraction where tourists has a feel of era.

In 1790 the Exchange building, now called the Fort Museum, was constructed under British rule. The Fort St. George Museum is a famous museum in Chennai located on banks of bay of Bengal which is the oldest surviving building built within the St. George fort. The Fort St. George Museum was organized and opened to the public since 31st January 1948. This museum has three floors divided into 10 galleries.  An imposing marble statue of Lord Cornwallis (1738-1805) greets the visitors. The statue, carved by Thomas Banks, was financed by funds raised from the public, depicts the scene of surrender of two sons of Tippu as hostages.

The lobby contains drawings showing the stages of constructions and renovations from 1640 onwards. Other than the indigenous weapons like the bow and arrow, the museum has a wealthy collection of armours starting from sword to canon shots, mortars and remaining of shells fired at and from Madras(Chennai) during the World Wars. In the Portrait Gallery, portraits, oil paintings on canvas are displayed, including those of George III and his consort, Queen Victoria and Robert Clive, Sir Arthur Havelock. Another interesting, painting is the earliest depiction of Fort St. George in 1738. This Museum most liked tourist place of Chennai. 

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