La Martiniere Lucknow

"Nowadays La Martiniere is one of the leading educational institutions of the city and state also which was started in it in 1840."La Martiniere College, Lucknow, established in 1845, was founded in accordance with the Will of Major General Claude Martin. Born in Lyon, France, in 1735, the Founder died in Lucknow on 13 September 1800.The college consists of two schools on different campuses for boys and girls. La Martinière Boys' College was founded in 1845 and La Martinière Girls' College was established in 1869. The Boys' College is the only school in the world to have been awarded royal battle honors for its role in the defense of Lucknow during the mutiny of 1857.There are two La Martinière Colleges in Kolkata and three in Lyon.

Martin acquired his fortune while serving Asaf-ud-Daula, the nawab wazir of Awadh, and was reputedly the richest Frenchman in India. Constantia, the palatial building which now houses the Boys' College, was built in 1785 as Martin's country residence but was not completed until 1802, two years after Martin's death on 13 September 1800.

La Martinière during the 1857 uprising

For the first time in history, Britain called on schoolboys to assist in the military conflict - namely the defense of the Lucknow Residency.La Martiniere College was deeply affected by the events of 1857 revolt in Lucknow. The College was evacuated to the Residency on 13 June 1857, on the orders of Sir Henry Lawrence, although the Principal, George Schilling, had fortified the school buildings and stocked provisions with the intention of defending La Martiniere.Apart from fighting, the boys were performed a number of tasks within the war. Residency compound - some ran messages to the hospital, watched over the sick and wounded, ground corn and manned the telegraph connecting the Residency to Alam Bagh; others were seconded to domestic duties in place of native servants who had absconded. 

Constantia Day

The first Principal of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, Mr. John Newmarch, recorded on 12 November 1845, “The College began work on the 1st October last.” This date, 01 October 1845, is taken as the actual beginning of the College and is now commemorated as Constantia Day. About seventy boys were admitted in the first session. Today, the strength on the rolls has now crossed thousands of students.

On 01 October 1995, the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the College, the President of India, acknowledged the contribution of the College by releasing a postage stamp of the denomination of Rs 2.00, as a mark of honor.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The finest and the largest example of European funerary monument in the subcontinent, La Martiniere is associated with its rather strange and romantic past. Built and designed by French soldier turned architect Claude Martin, it incorporates the features of Italian architecture, fusing them with native architectural attributes of Hindu and Mughal architecture.To the North of the Memorial Hall is the famous Blue Room, a formal reception room of La Martiniere College. A portrait of the Founder dominates this room. Contiguous with the Blue Room is the Board Room, reserved for meetings of the Local Committee of the Board of Governors of the College.To the South of the Memorial Hall is the Trophy Room, reserved for the display of all awards and presentations to the College. Valuable portraits of Governors-General of the East India Company, when La Martiniere was founded, and Viceroys during the British period in India adorn the walls.East of the Memorial Hall is the College Chapel. The furniture and ornaments are over a century old.The North and South Wings now contiguous with Constantia were constructed according to Claude Martin’s instructions in the 1840s.