Colonial renaissance

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The Raj Bhavan or governor’s residence in Mumbai occupies a sprawling, verdant 50-acre complex in the Malabar Hill area. The gracious Colonial style residence by the sea houses many exquisite carpets, paintings and architectural curiosities that are testament to its century-and-a-half of history.

But this ceremonial seat of power, known as Government House prior to Independence, had some equally historic predecessors. The Bombay Castle at Fort was the first residence of the governor. But over time, the increasing presence of soldiers and officers (of the British East India Company), their armouries and barrack-like fortifications prompted the governor’s change of residence. Apollo Street would be the temporary residence of the governor, who soon shifted to a mansion in the Parel area. Called Sans Pareil (the peerless), the mansion was formerly a Jesuit monastery, and from 1771 to 1883 it served the successive governors well.
But in 1883, when Lady Fergusson, wife of the then governor, died of cholera in Sans Pareil, it was deemed prudent to shift Government House to its present location in Malabar Hill (although some sort of move had already begun since 1880). Sans Pareil is now the Haffkine Institute.