House - Jal: Name - Diganta Chattopadhyay Class-8 Section - G Roll No. - 6

NAME – DIGANTA CHATTOPADHYAY
CLASS- 8 SECTION- G ROLL NO.- 6

HOUSE - JAL
SUBJECT – HISTORY
TOPIC – “ TRACE THE HISTORY OF FORT

WILLIAM FROM ITS INCEPTION TILL 1947.”
INDEX
1 : INTRODUCTION.
2 : HISTORY.
3 : STRUCTURE.
4 : OVERVIEW.
5 : ARCHITECTURE.
6 : REVIEWS.
7 : BRITISH INVOLVEMENT.
8 : CONCLUSION.
9 : ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
10 : BIBLIOGRAPHY.
INTRODUCTION.
Fort William is a must visit tourist attraction
place of Calcutta. Situated at the banks of river
Hooghly, it was named after King William III of
England. Fort William of Kolkata, India, was
established during the tenure of British Raj in
1696. In 1756, the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud
Daulah, attacked the Fort, temporarily
conquered the city, and changed its name to
Alinagar. Started in 1758 by Robert Clive, the
reconstruction of the fort was completed in the
year 1781. Made from brick and mortar, it
spans over an area of 5 sq km. This led the
British to build a new fort in the Maidan. The
Old Fort was repaired and used as a customs
Fort William, a view from the inside
LOCATION OF FORT WILLIAM ON MAP
HISTORY
There are two Fort Williams. The original fort
was constructed by the British East I
ndia company under the orders of Sir John G
oldsborough. Sir Charles Eyre started
construction near the bank of the H
ooghly river with the south-east bastion and
the adjacent walls. It was named after King
William III in 1700. John Beard, Eyre's
successor, added the north-east bastion in
1701, and in 1702 started the construction of
the government house at the centre of the
fort.
• Construction ended in 1706. The
original building had two stories and
projecting wings. Robert Clive started
rebuilding the fort in 1758, after the B
attle of Plassey (1757); construction
was completed in 1781 at a cost of
approximately two million pounds. The
area around the fort was cleared, and
the Maidan became "the Lungs of
Kolkata".
It stretches for around 3 km in the north-
south direction and is around 1 km wide .
The old fort was repaired and used as a
Custom house from 1766 onwards. Today
Fort William is the property of INDIAN
ARMY . The headquarters of eastern
command is based there, with provisions
for accommodating 10,000 army
personnel.
The Army guards it heavily, and
civilian entry is restricted. Much of
Fort William is unchanged, but St
Peter's church, which used to serve
as a chaplaincy centre for the British
citizens of Kolkata, is now a library for
the troops of HQ eastern command.
STRUCTURE
THE FORT IS BUILT OF BRICK AND MORTAR IN THE SHAPE OF
AN IRREGULAR OCTAGON WITH AN AREA 5 KM². FIVE OF ITS
SIDES FACE LANDWARD, AND THREE TOWARDS THE
HOOGHLY RIVER. THE DESIGN IS THAT OF A STAR FORT,
SUITED TO DEFENCE AGAINST CANNON FIRING SOLID SHOT ,
AND DATES FROM BEFORE THE ADVENT OF EXPLOSIVE
SHELLS. A DRY MOAT 9 M DEEP AND 15 M BROAD
SURROUNDS THE FORT. THE MOAT CAN BE FLOODED BUT IS
DESIGNED AS AN AREA IN WHICH TO USE ENFILADE FIRE
AGAINST ANY ATTACKERS REACHING THE WALLS.
OVERVIEW
The mighty edifice of Fort William is situated in the city of
Kolkata, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river. Built in
the year 1696, the fort gets its name from King William III
and was the first stronghold of the British in the country. The
magnificence of the building is aptly complemented by its
expansive area, which is spread over 70.9 acres. The
imposing structure of Fort William is embellished with
hundreds of arch like windows and overlook lush green
gardens. Meticulous stonework adorns the surface of the
building and took as long as took ten years to reach
completion.
However, it was soon realized that the building had a few
loopholes, and a new octagonal building was constructed
whose foundation was laid by Sir Robert Clive.
Over the course of its existence, Fort William served a number

of purposes, each of which was in stark contrast to the other.
Initially, it comprised of wings and an inner Bastille where
prisoners were hauled which is why it was known as 'the black
hole of Calcutta'. Today, Fort William is the property of the
Indian Army and has a capacity of accommodating up to
10,000 army personnel. It also serves as the headquarters of
the Eastern Command. Due to its importance with respect to
Indian intelligence, access to William Fort is limited to army
personnel and their relatives. However, you can visit the
palace for its admirable structure.
Architecture of Fort William
The new William fort is octagonal in shape and has an
imposing structure made out of brick and mortar. Three of
its sides faced the river ganga while the remaining five had
a beautiful Maidan full of greenery in front of it. The design
of the fort follows the pattern of a star and was constructed
such that it was impregnable against cannon firing slid shot.
A moat was included in the design as well which provided
protection against fire and fighters trying to penetrate the
wall. There are six gates that provide access to the fort,
namely Chowringhee , Plassey , Calcutta, water gate, St.
Georges and the treasury gate. St. Peter church was
constructed inside the new fort in the year 1928.
Fort William Reviews
Fort William built by English east India company is a
fortified structure for secure transactions of the company."
The black hole of Calcutta" episode which took place in side
the fort changed history of India for ever. It was just not the
defeat of nawab of bengal at the hands of clive,but it was
the beginning of the end of muslim rule in india that paved
the way for establishing british paramountcy in india.The
central characters clive,siraj-ud-daula and mir jaffer will all
be remembered for their wrong deeds by generations of
indians.
WE cannot comment on the design or the concept of
the structure . the British built so many structures in India
that ,this one structure is not a marvel. This is one of the
oldest constructions of British in India that changed the
history of India which arises some inquisitive ness. This
historical fort is out of bounds for ordinary Indians like me
for it lodges the sensitive eastern command of the Indian
army.
Arial View of FORT WILLIAM.
BRITISH INVOLVEMENT
THE BRITISH HAD MAJOR IMPACT IN THE HISTORY OF
FORT WILLIAM . FROM ITS INCEPTION TILL 1947 , THE
BRITISH HAD DECENT CONNECTION WITH THE FORT ,
BEFORE IT PASSED IN THE HANDS OF THE INDIAN ARMY.
THEY HAD AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN BUILDING THE FORT
AND EVEN USED IT AS AN ARMY BASE FOR THE BRITISH
FORCES. SO THEREFORE IT IS CERTAINLY VERY CLEAR THAT
THE BRITISH WERE INVOLVED WITH THE FORT WILLIAM.
ACKN0WLEDGEMENT
I , DIGANTA CHATTOPADHYAY OF CLASS 8, SECTION – G ,
ROLL NO. -6 , HOUSE – JAL , COMPLETED THIS WONDERFUL
AND NICE PROJECT ON FORT WILLIAM BY MYSELF AND
ENJOYED VERY MUCH DOING SO.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT WITH
THE REFERENCE FROM:-
*GOOGLE .
*WIKIPEDIA.
*HOLIDIFY.COM AND IMAGES FROM FORT WILLIAM

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NAME – DIGANTA CHATTOPADHYAY

CLASS- 8 SECTION- G ROLL NO.- 6

TOPIC – “ TRACE THE HISTORY OF FORT

Over the course of its existence, Fort William served a number

*HOLIDIFY.COM AND IMAGES FROM FORT WILLIAM

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