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| Located just behind the sacred St James Church
stands an off white large domed building popularly known as
William Fraser Bungalow and currently an administrative office
of Northern Railway. Built on the 'tykhana' or cellar made of
Lakhori bricks of Ali Mardan Khan palace, Shah Jahan's senior
general and one of the most important 'Omrahs' in the Mughal
Empire, the Bungalow was constructed in 1803. It was the residence
of the Deputy Resident of Delhi, Sir William Fraser, when British
first came to Delhi in 1803. Sir William Fraser was known for
his likings for Indian social life and his Indian friends. He
was appointed Resident of Delhi in 1828. |
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| There are two separate blocks, which forms the
whole building. The first block, which is attached to the portico,
has four octagonal corner turrets. It is a low rectangular building
and it leads to the dome chamber that was added later. The second
block, which was also the part of the original building, stands
on the far side of the first block. The special feature of the
second block is that it has a bow-fronted verandah and it once
faced the Yamuna River. The building suffered damages during
the first war of independence. It was repaired later and has
been well maintained till date. The building was awarded the
Heritage Award in 1997 in which it was described that the "building
seems to be a fusion of late Victorian and Indo-Saracenic style"
and "is maintained well with minimum alteration".
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