Residency Lucknow. A Glimpse of 1857:The 1st war of Independecence.

Clock Tower. Residency Lucknow

1857 Memorial Museum . Residency .Lucknow

Situated on the south of the Gomti river on a high ground , the Residency is one of the most significant monuments of Lucknow . The dilapidated walls and the bullet marked buildings well render the history of 1857, India's first war of Independence . The construction of the Residency first started by Nawab Asafuddaula and was completed by Nawab Saddat Ali Khanin the1800 . The last Nawab of Audh Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and deposed by the British, which led to widespread discontent . During the Siege of Lucknow the English took shelter inside the Residency . For the next five months heavy shelling took place between the English and the mutineers . Almost every building bear the evidence of this traumatic phase . The Treasury Building was turned into an Ordinance Factory to manufacture En field Cartridges , which had been one of the sources of this ignition . Other buildings named after Commanding Officers include, Sago's House, Dr Fraher's House Brigade Mess , etc.Quite a significant times the Sepoy's tried to capture the residency but failed due to its advantageous position,having built on a high ground and bordered by Gomti river on one side . Finally when the English army arrived from Kolkata they found that only 577men and women had survived . The fall of Lucknow was followed by brutal violence on the part of English army and even civilians of Lucknow were not spared.Lucknow was plundered by the avenging English soldiers , Begum HajratMahal , who led this part of the uprising fled to Nepal where she died .

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's Portrait

Residency Today

The ruins of Residency have been preserved in the condition as it existed in the time of the great uprising of 1857. An 1857 Memorial Museum has been created in which all remnants of this turbulet period has been nicely presved. It contains galleries displaying lithographs, documents , paintings ,artifacts relting to the great uprising of 1857. There are also portraits of Sir Henry Lawrence , Chief Commissioner of Awadh and another English woman,named Sussana Palmar,both of whom were killed inside the building of the museum . A lightand sound show has been arranged every evening ,which well illustrates the history of Lucknow during 1857.

Residency: Whispers of Immortality