Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 2 (2nd edition).pdf/77

 BANGALORE CITY AND CANTONMENT.

67

explored, and pathetic traces cf the captivity of British officers

patam

The

came

to

In 1811, on the removal of the British garrison from Seringa-

light.

to Bangalore, the fort afforded quarters to

some of our

troops.

arsenal was transferred from Seringapatam to the Bangalore fort

above mentioned, still remains within it. The followtaken from an article in the Calcutta Englishman : ‘ The form of the fort is oval, with round towers at proper intervals. It had, when captured by the British, five powerful cavaliers, a faussebraye. a good ditch, and covered way without palisades, but the glacis was imperfect in some parts. The two gateways, one in the north and the other in the south, were called the Delhi and Mysore gates. The former, which opened towards the pet (or town), was a in 1823, and, as

ing description

is

handsome structure in the best style of Muhammadan military architecand consisted of several gates surmounted by traverses. But, there being no ditches between the gates, an enemy taking possession of the works over the first gateway had a ready communication with all ture,

who stormed the fort at this point, are now interesting from an military point of view. The prison

the others, which the British troops,

took advantage antiquarian cell

The

of.’

fortifications

than from

rather

a

of Sir David Baird and his fellow

fifteen feet square, with so

-

captive

low a roof that a

man

is

from twelve to

can scarcely stand

upright.

The

pet, or old native quarter, is

very densely populated



there are

12,647 houses, with 62,317 inhabitants, in an area of 2J square miles. Until the last few years, the pet was surrounded by a deep ditch and a

memorial from the times of Maratha inroads. The most part, narrow and irregularly built, but there are The course not a few handsome houses owned by wealthy merchants. of trade is brisk, especially in the grain and cotton markets ; and altogether the pet presents the appearance of a prosperous oriental city. The following are the chief buildings scattered over the wide area square miles, with a known as the cantonments, which cover Government House, the residence population of 93,540 persons. formerly of the Chief Commissioner, now of the Resident, of Mysore, and the fine range of new public offices, rise amid the wooded

thick-set hedge, a

streets are, for the

grounds of Cubbon Park, to the west of the parade ground. The erected at a cost of ^^50,000, occupy a long two-

public offices,

building,

storied

storey

is

all

Grecian style of

the

in

architecture

of stone surrounded with verandahs.



The

the

lower

central jail

on the radiating principle, with worksurrounded by grounds kept under The High School (now the Central cultivation by the prisoners. College) contains a hall, with a roof supported by light monolithic In the extreme columns, 35 feet high, quarried in the neighbourhood.

covers a large space

shops for

many



it

trades,

is

built

and

is