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Frere Hall ( ur, ) is a building in
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
that dates from the early British colonial era in
Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
. Completed in 1865, Frere Hall was originally intended to serve as Karachi's town hall, and now serves as an exhibition space and library.


Location

Frere Hall is located in central Karachi's colonial-era
Saddar Town Saddar Town ( sd, صدر ٽائون; ur, ), lies in the central part of the city that formed much of the historic colonial core of Karachi. Saddar Town was formed in 2001 as part of The Local Government Ordinance 2001, and was subdivided into ...
, in the Civil Lines neighborhood that is home to several
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth co ...
s. The hall is located between Abdullah Haroon Road (formerly Victoria Road) and Fatima Jinnah Road (formerly Bonus Road). It lies adjacent to the colonial-era
Sind Club The Sind Club is the exclusive members-only club located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was started in 1871 and is one of the oldest clubs in Pakistan. Name spelling Although the province of Sind is now spelled Sindh, the Sind Club still uses th ...
.


History

The building was intended to serve as Karachi's town hall, and was designed by Henry Saint Clair Wilkins, who was chosen from among 12 candidates. The building's land was purchased at a cost of 2,000 British Indian rupees, which had been donated by WP Andrew of the
Scinde Railway The Scinde Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated in Sind during the British Raj between 1855 and 1885. History The Scinde Railway was first established by deed of settlement in March 1855 and incorporated by the ''� ...
, and Sir Frederick Arthur Bartholomew. The total cost of the Hall was about 180,000 rupees, out of which the Government contributed 10,000 rupees, while the rest was paid for by Karachi municipality.J.W. Smyth, Gazetteer of the Province of Sind B Vol 1 Karachi District, Government Central Press, Bombay 1919. Reprinted by Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi Pg 70 Work commenced in August 1863 and continued until October 1865; construction had not been entirely completed by the time of its inauguration. In 1877 at Frere Hall, the first attempt was made to form a consistent set of rules of
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...
. Following the death of
Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a Welsh British colonial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered b ...
in 1884, the building was renamed in his honour. Frere was a British administrator who was known for promoting economic development in
Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, as well as for making the
Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status. It is also spoken by a further 1.7 million people in India, where it is a scheduled language, witho ...
the language of administration in Sindh, rather than the
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...
, which had been favoured by the Mughals. Following the independence of Pakistan, the hall's library was renamed as Liaquat National Library. The library is one of Karachi's largest, and houses a collection of more than 70,000 books, including rare and hand-written manuscripts. The hall's ceilings were decorated by the world-renowned Pakistani artist
Sadequain Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi ( ur, ) (30 June 1930 10 February 1987), often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered one of the finest painters and cal ...
in the 1980s, with one mural remaining incomplete after his death in 1987. Several other works by Sadequain are found in the hall, and form what is known as the "Galerie Sadequain." The hall was closed periodically between 2002 and 2011 due to numerous attempted terrorist attacks on the nearby US consulate, and was not reopened permanently until 2011 when the consulate was relocated to a site further away. It is now directly administered by the
Karachi Municipal Corporation Karachi Metropolitan Corporation () is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. History 1852 Karachi Conservancy Board was established to control cholera epidemics in Kara ...
, and hosts several festivals.


Architecture

Frere Hall was built in the Venetian-Gothic style that also blends elements of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
and local architecture. The building features multiple pointed arches, ribbed vaults,
quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...
s, and flying buttresses. Carving on the walls and beautifully articulated mosaic designs are visible on multiple walls and pillars. The building is built primarily out of local yellow-toned limestone, with stone details formed from white
oolite Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25� ...
stone quarried from the nearby town of Bholari. Red and grey
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
is also used in the building, which was quarried from the Sindhi town of
Jungshahi Jungshahi (also spelled as ''Jang Shahi'') is a town of Thatta District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It lies to the east of Karachi at 24°51'26N 67°46'21E and is a Union Council of Thatta tehsil. In 1949 Major General Muhammed Iftikhar K ...
. A tall octagonal tower is located in one of the building's corner that is crowned by an iron cage. The roof of the hall is coated with
Muntz metal Muntz metal (also known as yellow metal) is an alpha-beta brass alloy composed of approximately 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron. It is named after George Fredrick Muntz, a metal-roller of Birmingham, England, who commercialised the a ...
. The hall is surrounded by two lawns originally known as "Queen's Lawn" and "King's Lawn" which after independence were renamed as ''Bagh-e-Jinnah'', or "Jinnah Gardens".


Exhibition space

Frere Hall houses a number of stone busts, including that of
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
, which was a gift from local
Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
philanthropist
Seth Edulji Dinshaw Seth Edulji (or Eduljee) Dinshaw (18 May 1842 - 8 May 1914) was a Karachi-based Parsi philanthropist during the British colonial era. Dinshaw had risen from poverty, and became the largest landowner in the city. Business interests Dinshaw was b ...
. Frere Hall also houses oil paintings by Sir
Charles Pritchard Reverend Charles Pritchard (29 February 1808 – 28 May 1893) was a British astronomer, clergyman, and educational reformer. He founded the Clapham Grammar School in 1834 and included sciences in the curriculum. A chapel was erected in 184 ...
, who was a former Commissioner of Sindh. As of 2022, Frere Hall was open to the public, and it is also one of the most important tourist attractions in Karachi because of the building's notable architecture and its association with British rule in the Subcontinent.


Gallery

File:Frere Hall Karachi. Pakistan.jpg, Frere Hall is surrounded by gardens File:Frere_Hall_Karachi,_Pk.jpg, Architectural details of Frere Hall File:Frere_Hall_and_Library..jpg, Frere Hall features Venetian-Gothic architectural elements File:Balcony Art - Frere Hall.jpg, The hall's balconies feature Venetian-Gothic motifs File:Stairs Of Frere Hall, Karachi.jpg, Staircases at the building are made of stone File:Frere Hall right after sunset under stars.jpg, Frere Hall at sunset. File:Frere Hall and surrounding gardens 1.jpg, Frere Hall Karachi.View from west side of Garden Image:Frere Hall, Sindh, c1860.jpg, Frere Hall,
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, 1860s


References


External links


Dawn (newspaper) "Frere Hall stands in need of repairs"
{{Karachi topics Buildings and structures in Karachi Heritage sites in Karachi British colonial architecture Venetian Gothic architecture