Page:Calcutta, Past and Present.djvu/116

 Esplanade was built, and gave its name to the street which led to it from the other public offices round the "Great Tank." The Proceedings for October 15, 1764, record that—

"the present Council Room being from its situation greatly exposed to the heat of the weather, and from its vicinity to the Public Offices very ill calculated for conducting the business of the Board with that privacy which is often requisite, it is agreed to build a new Council Room at a convenient distance from the offices."

Having experienced the heat of the weather in their old quarters, the Board selected an open situation which enjoyed the full benefit of the southerly breeze across the Esplanade of the New Fort, which by that time was nearing completion, and "contiguous" to it they built, either then or later, a house for the Governor. These two buildings continued in use till 1799, when the magnificent Marquis Wellesley built the present Government House, on the site which they had occupied.

Another public institution for which new quarters had to be found was the hospital. The old building adjoining the burial-ground was a veritable death-trap to those unfortunates who