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| S. John Church, Lansdowne, Uttrakhanda |
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| St. John's church. Interior hallshire.com |
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| Interior, St. John's church, Lansdowne, Uttarakhand. Alamy.com |
During the colonial period, in the Cantonments and Hill stations in Precedencies like the Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency and Calcutta Presidency, covering vast areas establishment of Churches became a necessity to serve large community of the British and other Europeans. The British preferred hill stations in these residencies to escape from searing heat and hot humid conditions prevailing on the plains. Being adventurous, many of the hill stations/resorts were discovered by them accidently. Sanatoriums and military training centers were bult on some of the hill stations. So were the churches to meet the spiritual needs of the British families.
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| Lansdowne www.indyabiz.com/l |
It was founded and named after then Viceroy of India Lord Lord Lansdowne (1845 -1927) . On the clear days in the summer, one can view the majestic Himalayan mountains . It is home to the Garhwal Rifles first established by the Colonial British. There are two old colonial Catholic churches that still carry the legacy of the British so is the Cantonment here that was founded in 1887 (once it was part of the United Provinces) When the British Crown took over the administration from the English company.
St. John's Church, the only active Roman Catholic Church in Lansdowne was established in 1936 under the supervision of Agra Diocese. The beautiful interiors and beautiful surroundings of the church attract pilgrims and tourists. The construction of this church was completed in the year 1937. The quiet surrounding in a secluded place and the Structure of the church both interior and exterior draw lots of tourists to this spot. It is about 2 km from Lansdown market area on the Mall Road. The other colonial Church St. Mary's is near by. The churches were built for the early British settlers and British Army men.
After India's independency, with the European population dwindling the church fell into disuse and because of official negligence on the part of the church authority, it was in poor shape. After 1951, the church was transferred to the government of India because of its heritage value.
Falling into a good time in 1977, Rev. Gratian Mundadan wanted to start a new mission station at Lansdowne and entrusted the responsibility to Fr. John Chakkanattu. In 1980, that the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, granted permission to handover the church to the diocese.
The re-erected St. John's Catholic Church was blessed by Rt. Rev. Dr. Paulinus Jeerakath CMI, Bishop of Jagdalpur on 28th April 1983. Since then, daily prayers have being regularly offered at the church.
St John's Church was designed in colonial architecture. The church is spread over wide area and encompasses various sections that were used for different purposes by the Church administration.
Here in this Cantonment, the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Museum, also called Darwan Singh Sanghralaya, is popular and it houses artefacts from the beginning of the Regiment. The Garhwal Rifles participated in the two world wars amongst other battles through its more than 100 years of history. Many artifacts, including photographs, arms used by regimental commanders, captured weapons, campaign history and other information are on display here. Merit Medals won by erstwhile Garhwal Rifle soldiers are also put on display, including the Victoria Cross awarded to Darwan Singh Negi and Gabar Singh Negi. way in the past. based on an old post:
