Triple century and counting

For 150 years, it was known as St. Mary’s Church Charity School

St. Mary’s Church Charity School

If you walk through St. Mary’s church at Fort St. George, you will reach a small well-tended garden in the shadow of an old three-storeyed building. Cross it to reach the gate to the left, walk into the lane, stop in front of the second door and look up. The board reads: St. Mary’s Church Room. This is where the first formal English-medium school in Madras opened in December, 1715, with 30 children.

Researching the genesis and growth of this school is like opening the pages of the social, political and military history of those times. As I sit with Chaplain Rev. Krubha Lily Elizabeth , one strand becomes clear to me: the contribution of St. Mary’s church to children’s education.

The school was probably established out of consideration for children of mixed blood, of single parents. These were not necessarily soldiers’ children. At that time, the East India Company was into trade, not warfare. Church records and gravestones show many in the white town died early — maybe due to outbreak of diseases. After the French-Portuguese war, soldiers’ children were added to this group. The Eurasian community (that included Anglo-Indians), concerned about the condition of orphans, initiated male/female orphanage asylums in George Town. The asylums were put together to form the Civil Orphan Asylum.

In his

A Tercentenary Story , Richard O’ Connor states the school was started in Jersey House next to the church, thanks to the efforts of Rev. William Stevenson. The school was kept going by headmaster Hubbard during the French occupation. In 1751, it was shifted to a house owned by Armenian merchant Shawmier Sultan. Three decades later, it returned to its original spot in the Fort. Records say the school building was not in good shape, so it was shifted, and returned after renovation. In 1871, it was moved to the Egmore Redoubt — “a situation open and healthy, the distance convenient, and the buildings such as, at little expense, might be adapted for the proposed institution,” read a circular.

Around 1871, the civil orphanage asylum was amalgamated with St. Mary’s Church School. The name of the Civil Orphan Asylum continued. When the government wanted to convert the Redoubt into a railway station for war needs, the Civil Orphan Asylum was shifted to Conway’s House — in 1912 or so. The Conway House was probably built around the 1830s; T.H.S. Conway lived there. The proceeds of this transaction were probably used to buy additional property for the school, near Conway House. The Conway House itself is the Junior Hostel now. Conway, known as the “Soldier’s Friend” has been “immortalised” with a marble statue that stands in St. Mary’s church.

Between 1954 and 1960, the school was named St. George’s School. “For 150 years, it was known as St. Mary’s Church Charity School,” says Rev. Krubha. “It was started, taken care of, by the church. We have a separate account for St. George’s School even today, because it is part of the church’s ministry,” she adds.

Since 1947, when the Church of South India was formed, the Bishop of CSI (Madras Diocese) has been the president of the school board. The Presbyter of St. Mary’s church, too, is a member, and is therefore the Chaplain of St. George’s School. An interesting sidelight is the letter written by the Arch-Deacon to the Chief Secretary, the Government, on June 28, 1883. The school children’s choir had to come to St. Mary’s church often to sing and the question arose: Who would bear the expense of conveyance? Wrote the Arch-Deacon of Madras: “The school has been here for a century and a half and amalgamated as the Civil Orphan Asylum, in spite of remonstrance and opposition,” implying, “Now they have shifted out, you talk of conveyance? Had they been here, this problem would not have arisen.”

The church is bringing out a book collating its history. The first book will be in Tamil. There will be a revised version of the history book in English. It is sure to bring out glimpses of the many aspects of the church. The book will be released on October 28, 2015.

“St. Mary’s church begged and borrowed to run the school. Even today, it is vibrant, not a monument that has lost its relevance. This is a church which has held services, been a part of the lives of its members for 335 years without interruption,” says Rev. Krubha.