British Monuments in India showcase some of the unbelievable work of artistic wonder created during the British rule in India. They are not just the masterpieces of art but also tell the story of the bygone ages. There are several monuments constructed by the British in India which still exist.

Some of the monuments present in India erected by the British include the British military monuments in India. With the aim to protect them from any possible hostile condition, the British constructed several forts and cantonments in India. Post-death military monuments were also an overriding factor during the rule of British in India. Built in 1810 AD, John Flaxman`s monument at St. Mary`s Church in Chennai, is dedicated to General Sir Barry Close (1756-1813), and exclusively includes the auxiliary use of a cast of Indian mourners. Later this theme appeared again in J.G. Lough`s monument of Sir William Hay MacNaghten (1793-1841) situated at St. Paul`s Cathedral in Kolkata.

The cantonments made by the British in India were mainly for the accommodation of armed forces. A majority of them possess a simple grid pattern of avenues lined with classical bungalows, counter pointed with the great institutions of British India like; the club, the church and the racecourse. An example for a majority of the British churches in India is St Martin-in-the-Fields, situated in London. In a number of early colonial churches the influence of great architects like Wren and, in particular, James Gibbs can be seen, and this was not just limited to India. St Martin`s offered an appropriate model for use throughout the British Empire. Its plan, elevations and distinctive tiered spire recur again and again from Australia to North America and from South Africa to India. St Mary`s, Chennai (Madras), the oldest complete Anglican Church in the East and one of the earliest British monuments in India, was commenced in the year 1678. Therefore, it predates the influence of Gibbs. It was very importance as for as the history of the British Empire in India was concerned and a repository of evocative monuments of considerable historical interest.

The first prominent church in India to utilize the Gibbs precedent was St John`s, Kolkata, constructed by Lieutenant James Agg in the year 1787 at the heart of the old city. Although the spire was not built as Agg wanted, it was widely admired and copied in other parts of India. The closely-located Scottish Kirk of St Andrew`s is a better rendition, and similar examples can be found in several cantonments and stations of upper India at Agra, Allahabad and Varanasi. The best monuments of British in India are the St George`s Cathedral and St Andrew`s Kirk at Chennai (Madras). Both St George`s and St Andrew`s are sophisticated essays in the Baroque style, distinguished designs which owe a great deal to the structural ingenuity of the military engineer who built them, Thomas Fiott de Havilland. St James`s Church in Delhi was designed by Colonel Robert Smith and constructed between 1828 and 1835 in memory of the famous Colonel James Skinner in fulfilment of a vow he made when he was wounded on the battlefield. The church was designed on a Greek cross plan and crowned by a Baroque dome, with each arm terminated by a Doric portico, but such exercises remained the exception rather than the rule.

A large number of churches contain splendid examples of funerary sculpture by leading sculptors of the day, like John Flaxman and John Bacon. Some of the spectacular British monuments in Indian include the St. Thomas` Cathedral, Mumbai (Bombay), St. Mary`s, and St George`s in Chennai (Madras) and St John`s in Kolkata (Calcutta), have spectacular collections of mural monuments which should not be missed. The cemeteries of British in India are one of the most poignant reminders of the price of British rule. There are more than two million European graves in India. Park Street Cemetery at Kolkata in the state of West Bengal is of outstanding interest, a fascinating repository of funerary architecture in the form of pavilions, pyramids and temples, resembling an Imperial city of the dead. Virtually every Indian town and city has its old European cemetery, where ancient Dutch, French, Portuguese and British tombs can be found.

Bungalows were another kind of British monuments that originated in the Indian state of Bengal. In Hindustani, the word `bangla` or `bangala` means a local village hut. From this the bungalow developed. Due to British influence, bungalow suggests any single-storey building with a veranda. Large number of planters, soldiers and officials staying in up-country locations demanded a shelter which could be speedily constructed with the help of available local materials. The British thus adopted the bungalow as the ideal form of tropical housing and exported it all over the world.

From their earlier forms, the bungalows steadily acquired elements which reflected the social status of the occupants. The thatch and bamboo were replaced by masonry and tiles and the wooden posts were replaced by Tuscan and Doric columns. Ornamental balustrades, arcaded verandas and louvered screens were added to beautify the external appearance. Air circulation was provided by a large fan or punkah, although mechanical fans came in as early as 1780 in Kolkata.

By the later parts of the 18th century, the British enjoyed unprecedented security and power. Large areas of the subcontinent were under direct or indirect control. A new military strategy was evolved, based on the rapid deployment of troops and artillery, which had profound consequences for the form and layout of towns and cities. The concentration of European troops in city strongholds was replaced by the growth of separate military camps or cantonments on the periphery.

A major change occurred in the form and pattern of European settlement and was evident from the construction of a gigantic new fort, based on Vauban`s 17th century concepts of fortification. The new Fort William was the most important symbol of British military power in entire Asia. The construction work took 13 years and the expenditure was over £2 million. Contrary to the Fort St George, where all the principal public buildings were contained within the fort, at Kolkata the new public buildings were placed outside the ramparts, which was a major change. The new fort changed the entire layout of Kolkata, for in order to command an unrestricted field of fire, a huge open space, the Maidan, was cleared. This not only made the fort unassailable but created a magnificent setting around which an elegant collection of private and public buildings arose.

Maidan, formed in the year 1780, provided an opportunity for European merchants to express their newly found wealth in a more visible form. The old thatched bungalows were replaced by grand classical houses which reflected the aspirations and status of their European owners. These fine Indian mansions, designed in an accomplished classical style, mark the first stage in the adaptation of European forms of architecture to an Indian context.

Gradually, the more central districts like Chowringhee and the Esplanade, acquired a continuous street frontage of boundary walls, screens and gates, which complemented the fine classical architecture of the houses. The consecutive construction of these houses over several decades was a process of continuous refinement and adjustment to local conditions. Although many of these fine houses have been demolished or submerged in the encroaching bazaars, a number of well-preserved examples can still be found in Chowringhec, Alipur and Garden Reach.

The Warren Hastings`s house at Alipore, described as a `perfect bijou` when constructed in the year 1777 and reputedly haunted by his ghost, is a notable example, together with nearby Belvedere, now housing the National Library. Some of the other British monuments are the Tollygunge Club or the Royal Calcutta Turf Club and Loretto Convent in Chowringhee; offer a rewarding insight into the `city of palaces`.

As the British centralised their power in Kolkata a whole series of classical perspectives was formed, with vistas terminated by prominent public buildings and monuments like the Town Hall, the Mint, Metcalfe Hall and the La Martiniere schools. In Mumbai (Bombay) also a spectacular New Greek town hall was commenced in the year 1820, the finest neo-classical building in India. In the district of Murshidabad a fine new palace was designed by General Duncan Macleod for the Nawab, based on Government House, Kolkata, while at Chennai (Madras), the shoreline boasted a range of classical buildings which provoked comparison with the Mediterranean in the age of Alexander.

The British monuments in India followed the then contemporary architectural idiom that was prevalent in Europe. Hence several monuments built by the British Raj reflect the gothic architecture as well as the Neo-Classical influence. Whilst these edifices left an indelible mark of the British rule in India, they also contributed in rendering a heterogeneous character to the Indian architecture.