heritage monuments in city of Mumbai

1. STUDY OF A
HERITAGE STRUCTURE
H U M A N I T I E S - 6
SHUBHAM PATIL | 32 | VPPMPCOA
ASSIGNMENT IV

2. WILSON
COLLEGE
The Wilson College, set up in
1832 in Mumbai, is one of India’s
oldest colleges; its foundation
precedes that of the University
of Mumbai, to which it is
affiliated, by 25 years.

3. The Wilson College was founded by the Indian missionary Rev. John Wilson, in 1832.
Beginning as Ambroli English School in Girgaum, Mumbai, it later saw several changes
of sites and names, eventually being called the Wilson School.
The collegiate section, from which Wilson College evolved, came about in 1836.
Soon after their arrival in Mumbai in February 1829, Wilson and his wife Margaret Wilson
began studying the local language of Marathi.
Margaret started a school for girls in 1829 at Ambroli House in Girgaum at Mumbai, with
Marathi being the chief medium of instruction and learning.
An English boarding school was opened in 1832, which later became the St. Columba
School.
The Ambroli English School is the direct forerunner of the present college.
On 14 December 1861, the collegiate section of Wilson's institution under the name of
Free General Assembly's Institution became the first privately owned, non-government
institution to be affiliated to the university.
In 1952, the management of the college came under an autonomous Board of Governors
in India.
Since 1963, the college functions under the management of John Wilson Education
Society.
After the death of Dr. Wilson in 1875, Rev Dr Dugald Mackichan served as a successor,
having already served the college for six months at the time of Wilson's death.
Nine years later, Mackichan became principal and held the position until 1920,
becoming one of the most distinguished principals of the college.
INTRODUCTION

4. JOHN WILSON
John Wilson was born in Lauder on 11 December 1804, the eldest of four brothers and
three sisters, and grew up in a farming family.
His father, Andrew Wilson, who lived to the age of eighty-two, was a councillor of the
burgh for over forty years and represented the parish church as an elder.
John's mother, Janet Hunter, was the oldest of thirteen children; she had a strong
character and also lived to the age of eighty-two.
The family grew up in Lauder on a hill farm sprawled across seventeen hundred
acres.
As a child Wilson revealed that he was more intelligent than his siblings, learning to
walk and talk at an early age.
In school he was considered 'the priest' on the playground because was often seen
preaching to his classmates. His being advanced for his age sometimes caused him
trouble, and his preaching was sometimes seen as an offence.
When Wilson was four, he started at a school in Lauder, taught by a George Murray.
He was only there for a year before he was moved to a parish school to be taught by
Alexander Paterson.
He left school at the age of fourteen, the standard end of school in Scotland in the
19th century.
His progress was also in his spiritual life. Mr. Paterson affected not only his students'
spiritually but also the community.
HISTORY

5. From 1819 he attended the University of Edinburgh, where he studied linguistics,
philosophy and theology for eight years, and also mastered the languages of Gujarati,
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Zend.
As he continued in his studies he discovered that teaching was a calling for him, and
started to study in that field. He graduated from the University in 1828.
Wilson's first experience of teaching was as a guide and tutor to the three boys of
Colonel Rose Cormack.
As he guided them through the Netherlands he tutored them.
These young men went on to be successful, one becoming Sir John Rose Cormack, a
physician in Paris.
After touring for four years with the Cormack boys and studying at the University of
Edinburgh during the same period he decided to dedicate his life to the people of
India, specifically the people of Bombay in the education field.
In 1829, a year after his graduation, Wilson and his wife went to Bombay as Christian
missionaries supported by the Church of Scotland.
The couple first studied Marathi at Harnai; then in 1831 they moved back to Bombay,
where John established the Ambroli Church for the people.
Determined to set up educational institutions for the young in Bombay, John first
established an English school in 1832, and added a college in 1836 – now called Wilson
College, Mumbai.
With this School John was able to introduce European education, examinations and
textbooks to the people of the city. This would gradually change the way in which
schools in Bombay orchestrated themselves. ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF WILSON COLLEGE

6. In 1857 John helped to establish the Bombay University, and went on to become
its Vice-Chancellor in 1869.
Wilson's wife, Margaret, also influenced the education system in Bombay, and
aided the female population by establishing schools for girls in 1829. In 1832 she
established a boarding school for females, now called St. Columbia High School.
This was western India's first boarding school for females.
The couple also opened schools in Marathi and Hebrew for the Native Jewish
community of the Bene Israel of the Konkan region, teaching Boys as well as girls
and translating the Holy Bible especially the Old Testament for their benefit.
Wilson was a passionate advocate for the preservation of Indian historical
monuments.
He was the Honorary President of what was then the Asiatic Society of Bombay.
When the Bombay Cave Temple Commission was established in 1848, he was
elected the first president.
He was an important lobbyist for the establishment in 1861 of the Archaeological
Survey of India.
As an archaeologist, Wilson wrote the 1847 Lands of the Bible: Visited and
Described, the 1861 Caves of Karla (on the Karla Caves), and the 1875 Religious
Excavations of Western India: Buddhist, Brahamanical and Jaina.
He also published a small account about the origins of the Bene Israel Jewish
community of the Konkan region in 1838.

7. The college building was constructed in 1889 and designed by John
Adams in the domestic Victorian Gothic style.
It is listed as a Grade III heritage structure in the city.
The college has a old building which stands front facing the sea and to
the back is the new building constructed recently.
The building welcomes through a 3 meter wide porch on entering we
have a staircase in the lobby leading to the first floor and Sir John
Wilson's statue right at the centre of the lobby
The building is facade is seen constructed in Black stone rubble.
The building is noted for its large first-floor classrooms with interesting
teakwood trusses. These classrooms are protected by deep verandahs,
which overlook the Girgaum Chowpatty beach and are protected by
the Mangalore tiled roof.
The arched veranda with its segmental sandstone arches on the
ground floor forms one of the common features of the building.
The deep over-hanging verandahs on the west façade facing the sea
form a buffer between the classrooms and the exteriors. They bear the
brunt of the heavy rains and the sunlight.
As seen in most of the buildings in that period, Minton tiles have been
used for the college verandah flooring. The main staircase area has
some excellent mosaic tile decoration with floral motifs.
ARCHITECTURE

8. The white marble courtyard fountain is renaissance revival fountain based on
one of the famous designs of the famous Italian sculptor Gianlo Renzo Bernini.
The entrance lobby with its grand staircase is one of the features in all the
buildings designed by John Adams.
The grand timber staircase with the multi-foil circular panel design in the
handrail is another feature extensively used by John Adams in his design.
The classrooms have been designed north–south opening into the west
verandah. They have ample windows for ventilation and natural light.
The library with its teakwood mezzanines and catwalks is one of the best-
maintained areas in the college.
The teakwood mezzanines are the extra reading and storage areas in the
library the library furniture has been designed keeping in mind the exact space
provision for the storage.
The library is divided into bays, which are partitioned with the storage
cupboards.
An over head view of the white marble courtyard Fountain in the college
interiors.
The chapel is placed in the north-west corner of the building. The central nave
with its arches and the columns has been designed with good acoustics. The
fountain is a 3-piece sculptor and is a garden ornament fountain, an order from
the catalogue, which was a typical feature in the 19th century.
The sculpture depicts the scroll motifs and the long tresses of hair representing
the water and river sea nymphs.
Fish motifs can also be seen in the hands of the sea nymphs.
An over head view of the white marble
courtyard Fountain in the college interiors.
view of the viewing gallery, first floor, from assembly hall

9. The assembly hall is designed with two level balconies, which were
designed to accommodate an orchestra for important functions.
The teakwood balcony is supported on the teakwood decorative
brackets. There is a multi-foil circular stained glass window with
the college crest on it.
The use of red terracotta tiles in the first floor and the second floor
makes the floor look different and these are in a relatively good
condition. Many original teakwood doors and windows still exist in
the college. ASSEMBLY HALL
corridor connectng rooms on
first floor

10. The Wilson College is one of the earliest educational institutions to have a
library from its very inception in 1832 and holds approximately 73,000 books
Wilson College provides Separate Hostel Facility of the both boys and girls.
College girls hostel Pandita Ramabai is fully kit-out with amenities.
The Hostel provides accommodation in the form of 20 single rooms, 5 double
sharing rooms and 8 triple-sharing rooms and 1 quadruple-sharing room.
Electricity is provided 24 hours, 7 days a week.
The boys Hostel “Mackichan Hall" provides accommodation in the form of 46
single rooms, 5 double rooms and 5 triple rooms.
Every resident is given a study table, a chair and a bed.
Electricity is provided 24 hours, 7 days a week. Residents can use their personal
electronic appliances which consumes reasonable electricity.
Wilson College has its own Gymkhana, with a wide range of facilities for indoor
and outdoor sports.
These include Athletics, Football, Cricket, Rugby, Hockey, Badminton, Weight
Lifting, Boxing, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Carrom, Chess etc.
The Wilson College Chapel is open during the college hours for private prayer
and meditation.
Wilson College has a successful vision Centre, Andrews Vision Centre (AVC)
established in 2008. Andrews Vision Centre is an initiative of former residents
of St. Andrews House. The Centre has successfully provided support to over 100
visually challenged students (since its inception) of Wilson College to
effectively cope with their academic and non-academic pursuits.
ONE OF THE BOY'S HOSTEL, MACKICHAN HALL
FACILITIES
COLLEGE LIBRARY

11. NOTABLE ALUMNI
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai Dilip Narayan Sardesai Merbai Ardesir Vakil
Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher

12. Thankyou!
Thankyou!
Thankyou!
http://www.wilsoncollege.edu/AboutUs10.html
http://www.mackichanhall.com/history.htm
http://andrewshouse.com/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_College,_Mumbai#cite_ref-Dilawari_11-2
REFERENCES