Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the RajNo empire in history built so variously as the British empire in India. The buildings there attest to the richness of an imperial presence that lasted--from the first trading settlement to the end of the Raj--some three hundred years. The attitude of the British to India was compounded partly of arrogance, but partly also of homesickness, and it shows in their constructions. Georgian terraces were adapted to tropical conditions, Victorian railway stations were elaborately orientalized, seaside villas were adjusted to suit Himalayan conditions, and everywhere the fundamental ambivalence of the British empire, a baffling mixture of good and evil, was mirrored in the imperial architecture. This book, now reissued with an introduction by Simon Winchester, was the first to describe the whole range of British constructions in India. The text and photographs illustrate these buildings not simply as physical objects, but as reflections of an empire's mingled emotions. Stones of Empire charts an enterprise in architecture, engineering, and social adaptation unique in human history. |
Contents
Introductory | 1 |
Theoretical | 13 |
Domestic | 38 |
Public | 84 |
Practical | 120 |
Spiritual | 158 |
Civic | 196 |
Envoi | 223 |
| 229 | |
| 230 | |
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Afghan Anglo-Indian arcades arch architect architecture bazaar beneath Bengal Bombay bridge British Empire British India Britons buildings built bungalows Calcutta cantonment capital cathedral central centre classical columns commemorate Company Crawford Market Curzon Delhi designed dome East Engineers England English erected European Fort William gardens gateway Gateway of India George Gothic Government House Governor grand Grand Trunk Road Herbert Baker High Court hill-stations hills Hindu Hooghly Hooghly River Hotel huge imperial imperialists Karachi Lahore later look Lord Lutyens Madras magnificent maidan marble Memorial miles military Mogul monuments museum Muslim Mutiny native never nineteenth century offices Ootacamund ornamental palace perhaps pillars portico Presidency cities Presidency towns Queen railway station Residency river Road roof rooms Secretariat Simla soldiers square staircase stone stood streets structure style tall tower Town Hall verandah Viceroy Viceroy's House Victorian village visitors walls William