St. Mary’s Church in Chennai is situated in the famous Fort St. George. The St. Mary’s Church is also called as the Westminster Abbey of the East and it is one of the ancient buildings of Chennai.

St. Mary’s Church in Chennai also it is the first Anglican Church in Asia. The church has been named as St. Mary because its origin was laid down on the Annunciation day of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that in this divine day the heavenly declaration of Jesus birth has been announced to Mother Mary.

Saint Mary's church Chennai

The architect of the church was either Edward Foule, Master-Gunner of Fort St. George, or William Dixon, Chief Gunner of the Fort, in 1678. the Church building consists of a nave and two aisles, with the nave protruding about 12 feet further than the aisles, thus forming the sanctuary. This extension was carried out in 1884 to house the choir.The internal dimensions of the building are 86 feet by 56 feet, with the outside walls 4 feet thick and the walls separating the nave from the aisles, 3 feet thick. The extraordinary thickness of the walls was to protect the building from attack and damage during storms.

One of the unique and cunning features that was incorporated in its design was a bomb-proof roof approximately four feet thick and rounded in the manner of a wagon’s roof, so as to cause cannon-balls to ricochet. However, it must be kept in mind that the bombs it was designed to withstand were seventeenth century cannon-balls. Also, wood was avoided as much as possible in the original design to obviate fires.

The altar piece, a depiction of the Last Supper, is unsigned but is said to betray obvious signs of the Raphaelite school, and it is supposed that Raphael himself painted the central figures. The altar piece was brought to Madras as part of the spoils of war by the British troops who stormed Pondicherry in 1761.

Enjoy a visit to St. Mary’s Church in a city trip to Chennai, India !!!