Travelers' Tales 2nd Edition: Fort St. George and St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica

Portrait gallery in Fort St. George

January 20, 2026, Monday

We had class in the morning and then a free afternoon to explore a little bit. We went first to Fort St. George. It is on the same piece of property that also houses the state government offices. So, we had to go through security to be allowed in. I ended up having to be patted down, and Karl had to show his passport and then give his phone number. There were armed police everywhere. Then we walked to the museum only to discover you cannot purchase tickets at the site. You have to buy them online. So, they gave us the QR code but it wouldn't work on our phones. So, they just kept shaking their heads like they didn't know what to do. We stood there for about ten minutes while they kept saying "just wait" and a tour guide showed up with a couple. They let us pay him the entrance fee in cash plus ten rupees commission (11 cents) and we got in!

Porcelain with the East India Company's trademark. This dishware was used for their official functions.

The fort was built in 1644 and completed on the patron saint of England's St. George Day, so they named it Fort St. George. The building we were in was the first bank of Madras but also the upstairs housed a public meeting hall. The fort was large fort establishment with a moat. It grew into a small town and was the headquarters for the East India Company. The museum today holds a collection of cannons, guns and swords, paintings, coins, early prints and the first Indian flag.

Lord Cornwallis

Lord Cornwallis was appointed the Governor General of India in 1786. He tried to stop corruption within the British administration. But the relief sculpture on the pedestal depicts Tippu Sultan surrendering two of his sons as hostages to the British to guarantee his compliance with the harsh terms of a treaty imposed by Lord Cornwallis. One son was ten years old and the other eight! So, the placement of the statue later on became problematic for the British because of their harsh treatment of the local population.

Queen Victoria

The paintings in the portrait gallery were of well-known British royals but the provenance of the paintings was not explained.

The original palace of the Prince of Arcot.

This etching caught my eye because when we visited the Prince of Arcot's palace, we learned the British took his land and palace away and gave him his current land and home, which looks very English. This palace looks Persian.

First Indian national flag.

This flag is the crown jewel of the museum's collection. It was first hoisted in 1947 symbolically at Fort St. George. It is 8 feet by 12 feet and made of silk. It was the first flag flown after independance.

St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica

We took an auto rickshaw to see the St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica. We learned there are three Basilicas in the world that house the remains of one of Christ's apostles. Doubting Thomas came to India in 52 CE. He taught and traveled and was finally martyred (speared) in Chennai on a hill in 72 CE. His body was entombed here and the church built upon the site. There are also apostles buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and one in Spain for James.

The nave.

A 16th century statue of Mary brought from Portugal.

St. Francis Xavier spent many hours praying in front of this statue. He attributed many miracles to her.

The lancehead the killed St. Thomas is encased in this box.

We could not take any pictures of the piece of bone housed in a separate small chapel that belonged to Thomas. They had a mannequin lying in a sepulcher to help you envision that he was entombed there.

Our auto rickshaw driver who took us back to the hotel was a character. He is showing a rally that happened today for the movie star who is running for office. He tried to take us to a store that sold "temple art" but we told him we weren't interested after we got out and looked inside. He wanted to take us more places but finally got the idea we were done.