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| Canning House,Port Canning, WB telegraphindia.com |
That the dilapidated red-brick masonry building in the town of Canning, far away from Kolkata W. Bengal was the residence of Lord Canning or just an office building of the historic port is a subject of debate. The assumption is it could be the residence of Lord Canning.
Tucked away in the South 24 Parganas of West Bengal, approximately two hours from Kolkata, lies the town of Canning. While today it serves as the gateway to the Sundarbans, it was once intended to be the "Second City" of the British Empire. The most poignant reminder of this grand, failed ambition is the Canning Residence (locally known as Lord Canning’s House), a red-brick mansion that stands in atmospheric decay.
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| Canning House, WB Port Canning Justdial.com |
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| Damaged building,Port Canning WB Justdial.com |
Early History and Ambition
The story of the residence is inseparable from the creation of Port Canning. In the 1850s, the East India Company sought a deep-sea alternative to the Calcutta port, which was plagued by the silting of the Hooghly River. They chose a spot on the banks of the Matla River. Named after Lord Canning, the then Governor-General and later the first Viceroy of India, the port was envisioned as a rival to Singapore.
By the early 1860s, the town was connected to Kolkata by one of India’s earliest railway lines. The grand two-storied mansion was constructed during this period of speculative mania. While local lore suggests it was a residence for Lord Canning himself, historical evidence suggests it more likely served as the administrative headquarters for the Port Canning Land Company.
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| OneofMany brass handles Canning House ,double-dolphin.blogspot.com |
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| Canning House Facebook.com |
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| highly damaged outer walls, etc.Canning House Facebook.com |
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| inner part,Canning Residence, W.B. double-dolphin.blogspot.com |
Architecture and Grandeur
The residence is a quintessential example of colonial architecture adapted to the humid tropics. The structure features:
Twenty-two large rooms designed for high-capacity administrative work or residency.
Arched porches and high ceilings to facilitate ventilation.
Red brick masonry, which has weathered over a century of monsoon cycles and saline air.
Historical Significance and Decline
The residence symbolizes a hubristic attempt to conquer the Sundarbans' mangroves. Henry Piddington, a shipping inspector and pioneer in the study of tropical storms, famously warned that the port would be destroyed by a cyclone within fifteen years. His warnings went unheeded.
In 1867, a tidal surge devastated the port infrastructure. This, combined with the difficult navigation of the meandering Matla River and the 1865 wreck of the ship Eagle Speed, led to the port's abandonment in 1871. The mansion subsequently fell into the hands of the Port Canning Land Company and was later purchased by a private caretaker, J.M. Ghosh, in 1962.
Restoration Efforts
For decades, the building suffered from neglect, with collapsed roofs and encroaching vegetation. However, recognizing its historical value, the West Bengal Heritage Commission recently took the structure under its protection. Restoration plans are currently underway to stabilize the masonry and transform the site into a heritage destination, preserving the story of the "unlucky scheme" that nearly shifted the center of power in Bengal.
https://double-dolphin.blogspot.com/2019/01/forgotten-history-port-canning-disaster.html
K. N. Jayaraman
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