![]() Serampore, also known as Srirampur or Serampur, is a city and a municipality in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. Serampore is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hooghly River and was part of Danish East India Company under the name Frederiksnagore from 1755 to 1845. Later Serampore became renowned for the work of the three Baptist missionaries; William Carey, William Ward and Joshua Marshman, who resided in the Danish port to avoid the hostility of the English authorities in Kolkata. ![]() The fine classical mansion situated next to the Chapel is possessed by the India Jute Mill. From here J. C. Marshman, son of the missionary, edited the Friend of India, progenitor of the Kolkata Statesman. In the grounds of the College is the house where Carey died in the year 1834. The central avenue, fringed with casuarina trees, is laid out attractively. St Olav's Church stands to one side. The design was based on a drawing prepared by an English engineer, Lieutenant Alexander Armstrong, but it was adapted during the course of its construction by Major Wickede. It is based on the usual Gibbs's prototype of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and more particularly on the early Indian example of St John's, Kolkata, but the broken pediment over the portico is distinctly Danish in character. The church was financed partly through the efforts of the Danish governor Ole Bie and partly by a gift of ten thousand rupees from the Marquess of Wellesley, who wished to enhance the view from Barrackpur opposite with a steeple. The church contains a memorial to Dr. Carey and his associates, who were buried in the Baptist Cemetery. The former Manager's House or Government House in Serampore retains a fine entrance gateway, which was once enriched with the monogram of Fredrik VI set in a triangular pediment carried on paired Ionic pilasters, but much of this Baroque detail has been eroded. Close to it is the Roman Catholic Church, endowed by the Baretto family, with a fine Doric order carrying an enormous segmental pediment. A number of early nineteenth century classical bungalows survive, but the reputation of the town as a refuge for adventurers, debtors and radicals has long since faded. It is now a quiet, backwater suburb of Kolkata, but it is still a suitable spot for an excursion from the city. |