>Monkbot at 02:54, 30 December 2020

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{{short description|CNI church in Byculla, Mumbai, India}}
{{coord|18|58|09|N|72|49|54|E|display=title}}
[[File:Byculla Church, Bombay, From Western Entrance (12676179324).jpg|thumb|The church's western entrance in the late 1850s]]

'''Christ Church''' in [[Byculla]], Mumbai, is affiliated to the [[Church of North India]] and was built in 1833 as an [[Anglican]] church. The church's establishment has been the subject of a myth that it was built to suit the convenience of the [[Governor of Bombay]], [[Mountstuart Elphinstone]], who reportedly had to earlier travel from his central Bombay residence in [[Parel]] to [[St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai|St Thomas Cathedral]] in South Bombay.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/painstaking-work-restored-mumbais-structures-to-former-glory-4920108/|title=Painstaking work restores Mumbai's structures to former glory|date=November 3, 2017}}</ref> Elphinstone had already left India in 1829.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Elphinstone, Mountstuart |volume=9 |pages=298–299 |inline=1}}</ref> The church was, in fact, built during the governorship of [[John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare]], who laid the foundation stone in July, 1832.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hq8OAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA97|title=The Calcutta Christian Observer|date=June 29, 1832|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{harvnb|Mackenzie Maclean|1889|p=279}}</ref>

Along with the [[Church of St Andrew and St Columba]] in South Bombay, Christ Church was one of the last 19th-century churches in the city to be built in the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] style, as [[Gothic Revival]] emerged as the preferred style thereafter.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/182-year-old-restored-byculla-christ-church-to-open-for-parishoners/16801176|title=182-year old restored Byculla Christ Church to open for parishoners|date=December 24, 2015|website=mid-day}}</ref> It was built by a Portuguese architect called Augusto.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQAWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA279|title=A guide to Bombay, historical, statistical and descriptive|first=James Mackenzie|last=Maclean|date=June 29, 1889|publisher="Bombay gazette" steam Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> The first service was held on 10 August, 1833, but the church was only consecrated in December 1835 by Revd. [[Daniel Wilson (bishop)|Daniel Wilson]], the then Bishop of [[Calcutta]].<ref name="auto5">{{harvnb|Mackenzie Maclean|1889|p=280}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> In 2017, the church's restoration project led by conservation architect [[Vikas Dilawari]] won the Award of Merit under the [[UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation]].<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/unesco-applauds-facelift-of-mumbais-charmed-past/articleshow/61429064.cms|title=Unesco: Unesco applauds facelift of Mumbai's charmed past | Mumbai News - Times of India|website=The Times of India}}</ref>

==History==
The church's establishment is closely associated with the affairs of [[Christ Church School]], which was founded as a charity institution by the Bombay Education Society at [[St Thomas Cathedral, Fort]] in 1816–17. Following a government order, the school moved to the Byculla site in 1825.<ref name="auto2"/> In 1831, for the benefit of the children, a plan for a church was announced.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48r8I_TDw8EC&pg=PA251|title=The Rise of Bombay: A Retrospect|first=Stephen Meredyth|last=Edwardes|date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108144070|via=Google Books}}</ref> The education society pledged {{Indian rupee}}10,000, and the government gave an equal grant on the condition that the children be provided "sittings free of charge".<ref name="auto2"/> In July 1832, [[John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare]], the then Governor of Bombay, laid the foundation stone and the building was ready by August 1833.<ref name="auto4"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=miD5YO05jpUC&pg=PA360|title=The Origin of Bombay|first=J. Gerson Da|last=Cunha|date=June 29, 1993|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120608153|via=Google Books}}</ref> Though the first service was held on 10 August, 1833, the church was only consecrated two years later in December 1935 by Revd. [[Daniel Wilson (bishop)|Daniel Wilson]], the then Bishop of [[Calcutta]].<ref name="auto5"/>

The church is home to one of the city's few [[pipe organ]]s, but like most of them it is non-functional.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/120-year-old-pipe-organ-gives-mumbai-a-music-lesson-from-the-past/story-XSe4d7q4afr7a2fEwoq8PK.html|title=120-year-old pipe organ gives Mumbai a music lesson from the past|date=June 11, 2018|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref> It was made by the London-based [[Gray and Davison]] for £300 some time in the 19th-century.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Design and architecture==
[[File:Byculla Church, Bombay, Eastern Side (12675838813).jpg|thumb|Christ Church, as viewed from the east, c. 1855]]

The church is built after the style of [[St. Martin-in-the-Fields]] in London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nYsAAAAIAAJ|title=Red Earth and Summer Lilies|first=Alfred Donald|last=Miller|date=June 29, 1949|publisher=Lutterworth Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> Christ Church was one of the last 19th-century churches to be built in the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] style, as thereafter the architects found themselves drawn towards the [[Gothic Revival]] style, as can be seen in [[Emmanuel Church, Mumbai|Emmanuel Church]] (1869) and [[All Saints' Church, Malabar Hill]] (1881). The church has a [[Greek Doric]] portico built with columns imported from England.<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/b/019pho0000254s3u00009000.html|title=Byculla Church, Bombay.|first=Colin|last=Wright|website=www.bl.uk}}</ref> Originally, the columns were to be used in the [[Mumbai Town Hall]], which was being built at the same time, but on arrival they were judged to be oversized for that project.<ref name="auto3"/>

===Stained glass===
In August 1868, a brief report appeared in ''The Builder'', a 19th-century architectural journal, which read: "Mr. J Scott, stained glass manufacturers, Carlisle, has just completed a stained glass window for the church of Byculla in India. Its dimensions are 14 ft by 9 ft, and it is divided into six lights, the whole of which are filled with [[grissaile]] work. Near the top of the centre light is a wreath surrounding the arms of Spencer Compton, in whose memory the window is to be placed in the church."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDi4vZ2oaagC&pg=PA647|title=The Builder|date=June 30, 1868|via=Google Books}}</ref> The Spencer Compton mentioned was not the [[Marquess of Northampton]], but a [[prothonotary]] at the Bombay High Court.<ref name="auto1"/> Mr. J Scott refers to John Scott Jr. of the [[Carlisle]] firm John Scott & Son, which was founded by the father and son named John Scott (the father died in 1865).<ref>[https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2055-1/dissemination/pdf/Article_Level_Pdf/tcwaas/002/1972/vol72/tcwaas_002_1972_vol72_0019.pdf John Scott & Son of Carlisle] Archaeology Data Service</ref>

===Restoration project===
The church was sensitively restored between 2013 and 2016 for the first time in its history, as earlier efforts were ill-executed or inappropriate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vervemagazine.in/travel-and-spaces/7-indian-heritage-sites-which-were-honoured-by-unesco-in-2017|title=7 Restored Indian Heritage Structures Have Been Recognised By UNESCO This November|date=November 16, 2017|website=Verve Magazine}}</ref> The historic [[Timber roof truss|teak wood trusses]] were strengthened, the [[Corinthian columns]] inside the church were [[gilded]] in gold, [[stained glass]] and the architectural details of the facade, which had been compromised earlier, were restored.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ifj.co.in/focus-projects/christ-church-byculla-mumbai/|title=Christ Church, Byculla, Mumbai|date=February 4, 2019}}</ref> The conservation project received the Award of Merit under the [[UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/bombay-glory-unesco-winners-share-challenges-in-heritage/1216305|title=Bombay glory: UNESCO winners share challenges in heritage}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Mackenzie Maclean |first=James |author-link=James Mackenzie Maclean |title=A Guide to Bombay: Historical, Statistical and Descriptive |date=1876 |publisher=Bombay Gazette Steam Press}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100160990|title=A guide to Bombay, historical, statistical and descriptive|first=James Mackenzie|last=Maclean|via=DPLA}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Churches in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Church of North India church buildings]]
[[Category:1833 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1833]]
[[Category:Greek Revival church buildings]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in India]]
[[Category:UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards winners]]

Christ Church Byculla - Revision history

>Monkbot at 02:54, 30 December 2020