Kolkata (Calcutta) city's, West Bengal: Tearful And Forgotten Colonial Graves 01

Navrangindia.blogspot.com September 14, 2026

 Kolkata  (Calcutta), the capital city of West Bengal, India was once a dynamic power center of the British Empire, still a living example of the British legacy and heritage. Once a seat of influential political authority, the heritage sites and the numerous graveyards keep reminding us of the ebb and flow of time, the heydays of imperial glory and, at last, the fall of the empire from sublime to nothingness. Abundant job and business opportunities brought in lots of Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries whose lives were mainly dependent on the performance of the East India company that became well-established and was in the expansion mode.  Churches and graveyards came up to serve the Christian communities'  and their spiritual needs. The colonial life of Calcutta also changed and saw various changes on many fronts. The Europeans had begun to understand the glorious culture and the richness of Indian languages, whereas, the Indian natives' interest in the English languages made them widen their knowledge.The  cosmopolitan life of Calcutta was conducive to a healthy atmosphere in the areas of culture and tradition and brought about the revival in the life of Bengalis, in particular.

 City of a glorious colonial past after India's freedom from the British yoke became a city of declining economy tied to the stigma of poverty and desolation unlike cities like New Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai. In the past 3 decades or more Kolkata has moved forward with all round developments in various fields and is growing fast in tune with rapid economic developments. 

 Many colonial cemeteries are poorly maintained mainly due to neglect and there is an awareness to preserve the heritage sites  across India and the government is allocating funds for the restoration projects.  India has tens of thousands of monuments of great antiquity and it is a tough undertaking, considering the size and importance. In the last one decade, the government is taking serious steps to preserve the heritage sites without damaging the heritage values so that they will be preserved fo the posterity.

 During the colonial rule, Calcutta had a large number of Cemeteries. The largest non-church cemetery being the South Park cemetery. Tollygunge Cemetery is a Christian Burial Ground, established in 1942 before India's independence. 

 "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Awaits alike th' inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
                                                    ― Thomas Gray

The following cemeteries served the Europeans and others

Job Charnock’s Mausoleum\ alamy.com

Above image: Job Charnock’s Mausoleum at the graveyard of St John's Church, Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal is made of a variety of granite called pink granite (containing iodine rich mineral called Hypersthene). This type of rock of Archaean age is mined at St. Thomas Mount, a suburb of Chennai. This granite variety is named after Job Charnock called Charnockites by the Geologists.
St John’s Church houses the mausoleum of Job Charnock, an honest official with the East India company, who chose a site comprising a few villages that  later  became Calcutta.   Also included are the monuments,q23 commemorating those who died in the ‘Black Hole Incident - the dungeon on the premises of Ft. Williams where more than 40 British died due to suffocation and stampede when the ruler Siraj-ud-daulah herded the soldiers and others when he captured the fort from the British company. The company went on their words and never paid the taxes due to the Nabob. Other note-worthy person in St John’s graveyard are Admiral Watson, who with Clive liberated Calcutta from the Nabob. The church also contains the study of Warren Hastings, the first Governor-general of India.

South Park Street Cemetery -  ‘The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power’ "The Great Burial Ground of Chowringhee" - opened on 25 August 1767.

South Park Cemetery facebook.com


These obelisks, Park Street Cemetery Kolkata alamy.com

Pyramids, mausoleums ,South Park Street Cemetery.
alamy.com
South Park CemeteryKolkata  photography.wordpress.com

South Park Street Cemetery alamy.com

It is believed to be the Great Cemetery of Asia “(South Park Street Cemetery), Kolkata” measuring some eight acres in the prime locality of this vast city,  enclosed by a high brick wall. SPSC served the European communities when they were at the helm of affairs in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are roughly  1600 burial sites - an array of tombs with cenotaphs, tablets, and epitaphs, surrounded by a serene, impressive landscape of tall, shady trees, bushes, and plants of many varieties. The tombs, raised on a brick plinth, have different shapes and sizes, many fronted by Corinthian or Ionian columns that support the structures. Many follow an admixture of Gothic, Indo-Saracenic styles. The black basalt carvings on the frontal façade suggest a distinct respect for the Hindu faith.  Sir William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta in 1796 and other eminent persons buried here include Henry L V Derozio and David Drummond. Preservation work had begun in 2007 and the work has been going slowly in various phases as the site is enormous. There is a proposal to introduce solar-powered lighting”. It is probably the largest Christian cemetery outside Europe and America in the 19th century.

The North Park Street Cemetery does not exist, save for one grave—the Robertson family tomb. The cemetery was cleared in 1953 and the land is currently occupied by the Assembly of God Church and the Mercy Hospital. But the map of Calcutta prepared by Frederick Walter Simms in 1847 identifies two more cemeteries at this end of Park Street. Located on the south-western corner of the North Park Street Cemetery was the Mission Cemetery 
( commonly called Mr Kiernander opened in or by 1773), which has also disappeared. Further north was the small French cemetery,  where the Apeejay School is functioning. One tombstone that has been preserved is that of Anne Kiernander, wife

The North Park Street Cemetery. qz.com

of the  Swede, Johann Zachariah Kiernander, who was the first protestant missionary to Bengal. Her tombstone is inside the Assembly of God Church building and is fixed in the  wall. Among the tombs lost when the French cemetery was demolished was that of Josephine Tiretta, wife of town planner Eduardo Tiretta. A bazaar called  Tiretti Bazar is in her memory. Her tombstone is not yet located, further, several tombstones from the French cemetery are now on the walls of the South Park Street Cemetery.

North Park Street Cemetery was the burial place of Richmond Thackeray (father of novelist), Lt Col James Achilles Kirkpatrick (the White Mughal) and other well-known persons.
 
Bhowanipore Cemetery:"The Military Burial Ground, beyond the General Hospital, was opened in the year 1782-83".

 Bhowanipore cemetery Kolkata ; W.Bengal.
alamy.com  

Bhowanipore cemetery, Calcutta. PK Bhattacharyya -
WordPress.com

Bhowanipore cemetery. TripAdvisor

Bhowanipore Cemetery located one km from the southern end of the Calcutta Maiden and is enclosed by a high wall. The war plot is at the rear of the civilian cemetery, some 200 meters from the main entrance. The cemetery is at no. 15 Debendra Lal Khan Road, Calcutta 700027.

Bhowanipore Cemetery was a civil cemetery and has been in 
use since 1864 and the earlier burials involving personnel and their dependants took place nearby garrison at Fort William.The cemetery initially took its name from it. Initially there 
were war graves, but subsequently, civilian graves got mingled with them. Calcutta (Bhowanipore) Cemetery has  95  Commonwealth burials of the WWI, including one brought in from Fort Chingrikhali Cemetery in 1934. WWII burials number 617. The Commission also has responsibility for the care of 233 non-war burials in the cemetery.

Visiting Information: Opening hours are: 09.00-16.00. A notable fact is the Wheelchair access to cemetery is possible  for elderly people via main entrance. In 1954, the church authorities moved   the graves to places with largest war burials.