One of the earliest surviving buildings of the British in India is the mausoleum of the Oxinden family in Surat. There are other tombs as well in that town - of Dutchmen, among others. The Oxindens' tomb is built of stone in an Indian style with some concessions to their origins - for example, the main cupola is an open cross, signifying the Christian cross.
Sir George Oxinden (1620-69) was Governor of Bombay who was noted for fighting off the Maratha chieftain Shivaji's attack on the English factory at Surat. Two other family members are memorialised in the structure. It is forty feet high by twenty-five feet wide with two cupolas held up by heavy columns. You can reach internal galleries by means of a flight of steps. The upper gallery is to 'George', the lower to 'Christopher', and the legend 'Anglorum in India, Persia, Arabia, Praeses' appears therein.
The photograph below was taken by an unknown photographer in the 1890s, and is part of the British Library image collection.
 |
| Oxinden's Mausoleum, Surat. © British Library Board |
0 comments:
Post a Comment