A lesser-known ancient Chapel of the Original Madras - Trinity Chapel

We all from Chennai definitely know the Central Railway Station very well. Some of us may know that it was built on the original site of a garden named Jamla Thottam. And none of us may know about a small beautiful chapel on the same site that predates the railway station. Interesting, right? Let's read...

A wealthy Portuguese trader, John Pereira, by name, owned a house in Fort St. George. He had leased a vast garden measuring 36,000 square feet in 1671 CE. The garden was called Pereira Thottam (garden). Later, the name was diluted as Jamla Thottam. The vast garden full of coconut trees became a congested residential area when people were forced to relocate here from the old Black Town in the 1740s. 

The Central Railway Station was constructed in the 1890s, where Jamla Thottam stood. Sixty years ago, in 1831 CE, a chapel named the Trinity Chapel was built on this site when no such prominent landmarks existed. Due to the efforts of Rev. Risdale, this chapel was opened, aiming to cater to the religious needs of the Christians in the southern Black Town. It remained a well-known landmark for the next few decades. 

The once-popular landmark remains neglected and unknown now. It is located on Stringer Street corner, facing Wall Tax Road.

Happy travelling.