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| British Empire had gained its full vigour and was named the most powerful political and military force in India, after Tipu Sultan of Mysore was defeated in 1799. Roughly from here had commenced the prolonged history of British architecture that was rule in India for the next 200 years. With this elevated status the Britons also gauged the need and responsibility to govern territories under their control and to be viewed as a powerful, civilized force by the Indians. The Military Boards established by the English contributed to the majority of secular architecture, like barracks, forts, mess for soldiers and other assorted buildings. However, for the purposes of government and the church, something more authoritative was needed to assert British dominance. Hence, Government Houses and Town Halls, towed closely behind changing trends in Britain to a great extent and also demonstrated the continued influence of the self-styled `pattern books`. In fact, history of British architecture in India reveals that it is from these `pattern books` that the bulk of the Company`s designs were carried out.

Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were early British outposts, to which very early stages in British architecture in India can be traced historically. Fort William was the highest point on the Hooghly River that ships could reach. Unlike Madras and Bombay, however, principles of urban design were experimented in Calcutta. Calcutta had grown out from its position in the last decades of the eighteenth century as East India Company`s main seat; the city was embossed with the hallmark of authority. In the context of colonial architecture, there was established two chief axes. The first one led from the civil arm of authority circling a massive square dominated by the Writers` Buildings, to the military arm in the Maidan by Fort William. The secondary one encompassed the Council House, the Courts and the Town Hall. At their perpendicular intersection stood the Government House,