Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet, KCB (2 January 1795 – 3 November 1853) was an

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

civil servant and agent of the

Governor General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

at the imperial court of the

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

Biography

Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe was born on 2 January 1795 at 49

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the Third Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to BBC Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Institute of Britis ...

, London, and christened on 27 March 1795 in St Marylebone Parish Church, Saint Marylebone, London, England. He arrived in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

in 1813 and lived there for forty years. His elder brother,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1785–1846), was Resident to the Mughal Emperor's court, and briefly the provisional Governor General of Bengal (1835–36). He married Fe'licite Anne Browne on 13 July 1826. In 1830, Metcalfe began to build the " Metcalfe House" on the outskirts of Delhi, taking land belonging to

Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were trad ...

villagers. He filled it with his collections of art, books and relics of Napoleon. The Metcalfe House was called ''Matka Kothi'' by the bearers and ''khansamahs'' (chefs) serving Sir Thomas, as they found it difficult to pronounce the name Metcalfe. In 1835, Metcalfe became the agent at Delhi after the murder of William Fraser and ran the "Delhi Territory", the area around the old capital under British control since 1803. He succeeded his brother as Baronet in 1844, and became an important figure in the cultural climate of

. While working in India as the Governor-General's Agent at the Imperial court of the Mughal Emperor, between 1842 and 1844, Metcalfe ordered a series of images of the monuments, ruins, palaces and shrines from Delhi artist named Mazhar Ali Khan, and later an album termed as Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi (also ''Dehlie Book'' or ''Delhi Album'') was compiled by Metcalfe in 1844, containing 89 folios around 130 paintings by Indian artists, and including descriptive text and touching words and was sent to his daughter

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * Emily (1964 song), "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * Emily (Dave Koz son ...

as she headed from an English schooling to join him in Delhi. The album has now been acquired by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

. During the rainy season he used to stay at 'Dilkusha' (Delight of the Heart), which was built on the first floor of the tomb of Mohammed Quli Khan, brother of

Adham Khan Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani. Conquest ...

, general of

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...

, situated south east of the

Qutb complex The Qutb Minar complex are monuments and buildings from the Delhi Sultanate at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. Construction of the Qutub Minar "victory tower" in the complex, named after the religious figure Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kak ...

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurgaon and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven medi ...

, an area which was also the traditional retreat of the Mughals for the season. While his main house was a colonial bungalow, built in 1844, its library contained over 20,000 books including Napoleon memorabilia, however, during the Uprising of 1857 the library was destroyed and looted. He was invested with the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

, and became a Knight Commander in the same order. Metcalfe was allegedly poisoned by one of Bahadur Shah's queens in 1853. He was buried in a grave to the east of the Skinner Family's cemetery, at the St. James' Church near Kashmiri Gate,

. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, the Metcalfe House was sacked by the Gurjar villagers from whom the land was taken to erect the building.

Family

His father was Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baronet and his mother was Susannah Sophia Selina Debonnaire. His father first went to India in 1767 as a cadet in the King’s Army, eventually becoming a Director of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He married, firstly, Grace Clarke, daughter of Alexander Clarke, on 7 June 1815, by whom he had one daughter. He married, secondly, to Felicite Anne Browne, on 13 July 1826, by whom he had one son and two daughters. He was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, Sir Theophilus John Metcalfe, 5th Baronet, who was also in the Indian Civil Service.

Death

In 1853 Metcalfe suffered a digestive disorder which led to his slow death. His doctors believed that the ailment was caused by poison. Metcalfe's family, and Metcalfe himself, suspected that he was being administered poison on the instructions of Zinat Mahal, the last

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

Bahadur Shah Zafar's favorite wife.

Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi

Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, also called the Delhi Book, is an album consisting of 89 folios with approximately 130 paintings by Indian artists. The paintings depict Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of

, the lives of native Indians as well as other contemporary material. Metcalfe added extensive descriptions to almost all paintings. He had assembled the album to be a gift for his daughters in England, and he sent it to them in 1844. The most important feature of the album is that it shows buildings as they were before the

siege of Delhi The siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass u ...

during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. Many of these structures were razed, vandalized or suffered neglect in the years following the Mutiny. File:Different views of the Metcalfe House, Delhi, 1843.jpg, Different views of the Metcalfe House, Delhi, 1843, which now houses the Laser Science and Technology Centre (

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) ( IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...

). File:St Jame's Church, Delhi, folio from book by Thomas Metcalfe, 1843.jpg, St. James' Church, Delhi File:A panorama in 12 folds showing the procession of the Emperor Bahadur Shah to celebrate the feast of the 'Id., 1843.jpg, A panorama in 12 folds showing the procession of the Emperor

Bahadur Shah Zafar II Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

to celebrate the feast of the 'Id., 1843. File:Details of Skinner's Tomb, St. James' Church, Delhi.jpg, Details of the tomb of Colonel James Skinner C.B. at St. James' Church, Delhi, and Styles and titles in Persian of Metcalfe as Agent of

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

(right page) File:Description of assassination of William Fraser, Agent to the Governor-General of India, in a 1843 manuscript.jpg, Description of assassination of William Frazer, Agent to the

, on 22 March 1835, in Delhi. File:Folio from 'Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album by Thomas Metcalfe, 1843.jpg, Scenes from a Royal procession, and a party of

Skinner's Horse The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, after ...

regiment.

Architectural legacy

File:One of Metcalfe's "follies", a chhatri, with Jamali Kamali Mosque in the background.jpg, One of Metcalfe's "

follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fo ...

", a ''

chhatri ''Chhatri'' are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they serve as decorative elements. The earliest example of chhatri being used in t ...

'', with Jamali Kamali Mosque in the background,

. File:Another of Metcalf's follies, close to the Qutb Minar parking lot, Mehrauli.jpg, Another of Metcalf's follies, close to the Qutb Minar parking lot, Mehrauli.

References

Sources

Genealogy of Metcalfes

External links

About the Delhi Book

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'The Delhi Book' of Thomas Metcalfe

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Thomas 1795 births 1853 deaths British East India Company people History of Delhi People from Marylebone Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom