Western Front, Fort Cornwallis
This view looks south-west from a position adjacent to the Seri Rambai cannon at the point of the north-western bastion of Fort Cornwallis, in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. A photo I posted a couple of days ago looks directly at the ammunition store which is just visible on the left edge of the image above. The cannon positions are visible, along the western wall of the bastion and what appears to be the footings for a trainable gun in the very far corner.
Beyond, the partially-hidden roofed building in the distance is probably the fort's main magazine, surrounded by high protective walls. The small domed building to its right is also within the protective magazine walls, suggesting a similar role - perhaps one for powder and one for shot? It's interesting that they stand proud of the defensive works on the fort's walls. You'd have thought they woudl have been partially sunken into the ground - but perhaps there was a risk of damp/water in light of the fort's proximity to the sea?
Light Road (Lebuh Light) can be seen just over the heads of the two ladies on the right. Assuming that "The Chartered Bank" (seen on the left horizon) is a precursor of today's Standard Chartered Bank, I can report that the bank has moved since this shot was taken in 1971.
The bastion fort was built by the British East India Company in the late 18th century and is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. The fort never engaged in combat during its operational history.
It was named after the then Lieutenant-General The 2nd Earl Cornwallis (1738-1805), the Governor-General of Bengal at the time of the fort's construction, who had also been involved in the American War of Independence, surrendering his army to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781.
In 1804, after the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, and during Colonel R T Farquhar's term as Governor of Prince of Wales Island (also known as Penang Island), Indian convict labourers rebuilt the fort using brick and stone. Fort Cornwallis was completed in 1810, at the cost of $80,000, during Norman Macalister’s term as Governor of Penang. A moat 9m wide by 2m deep once surrounded the fort but it was filled in the 1920s due to a malaria outbreak in the area.
Even though the fort was originally built for the British military, its function, historically, was more administrative than defensive. For example, the judge of the Supreme Court of Penang, Sir Edmond Stanley, an Anglo-Irish barrister, was first housed at Fort Cornwallis when the court opened on 31 May 1808. During the 1920s Sikh police of the Straits Settlements occupied the fort.
Royal Navy personnel under the direction of Revd Peter Brown conducted an archaeological survey in July/August 1970. The fort was gazetted on 8 September 1977, under the Antiquities Act 168/1976, as an Ancient Monument and Historic site. Today it is part of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The view above looks almost due south from a position close to the Seri Rambai cannon, with the Jubilee Clock Tower peaking over the trees to the left of the store. Scanned from a slide. Taken by a relative during a visit in 1971.
Western Front, Fort Cornwallis
This view looks south-west from a position adjacent to the Seri Rambai cannon at the point of the north-western bastion of Fort Cornwallis, in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. A photo I posted a couple of days ago looks directly at the ammunition store which is just visible on the left edge of the image above. The cannon positions are visible, along the western wall of the bastion and what appears to be the footings for a trainable gun in the very far corner.
Beyond, the partially-hidden roofed building in the distance is probably the fort's main magazine, surrounded by high protective walls. The small domed building to its right is also within the protective magazine walls, suggesting a similar role - perhaps one for powder and one for shot? It's interesting that they stand proud of the defensive works on the fort's walls. You'd have thought they woudl have been partially sunken into the ground - but perhaps there was a risk of damp/water in light of the fort's proximity to the sea?
Light Road (Lebuh Light) can be seen just over the heads of the two ladies on the right. Assuming that "The Chartered Bank" (seen on the left horizon) is a precursor of today's Standard Chartered Bank, I can report that the bank has moved since this shot was taken in 1971.
The bastion fort was built by the British East India Company in the late 18th century and is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. The fort never engaged in combat during its operational history.
It was named after the then Lieutenant-General The 2nd Earl Cornwallis (1738-1805), the Governor-General of Bengal at the time of the fort's construction, who had also been involved in the American War of Independence, surrendering his army to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781.
In 1804, after the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, and during Colonel R T Farquhar's term as Governor of Prince of Wales Island (also known as Penang Island), Indian convict labourers rebuilt the fort using brick and stone. Fort Cornwallis was completed in 1810, at the cost of $80,000, during Norman Macalister’s term as Governor of Penang. A moat 9m wide by 2m deep once surrounded the fort but it was filled in the 1920s due to a malaria outbreak in the area.
Even though the fort was originally built for the British military, its function, historically, was more administrative than defensive. For example, the judge of the Supreme Court of Penang, Sir Edmond Stanley, an Anglo-Irish barrister, was first housed at Fort Cornwallis when the court opened on 31 May 1808. During the 1920s Sikh police of the Straits Settlements occupied the fort.
Royal Navy personnel under the direction of Revd Peter Brown conducted an archaeological survey in July/August 1970. The fort was gazetted on 8 September 1977, under the Antiquities Act 168/1976, as an Ancient Monument and Historic site. Today it is part of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The view above looks almost due south from a position close to the Seri Rambai cannon, with the Jubilee Clock Tower peaking over the trees to the left of the store. Scanned from a slide. Taken by a relative during a visit in 1971.