Madras Record Office, Historical record office in Chennai, India
The Madras Record Office is an administrative building in Chennai that stores historical documents under Indo-Saracenic design. It features Gothic columns, exposed brick walls, and stone steps running along a central hallway with nine storage rooms where materials are systematically organized.
Record keeping started in 1672 when Governor William Langhorne set up a system for the East India Company's expanding administration. The current building was completed in 1909 and shows the Indo-Saracenic style that blended British and Indian architecture of that time.
The building holds documents written in Dutch, Persian, Danish, English, and Tamil, showing how many different peoples shaped this region through trade and rule. Walking through the reading rooms, you sense this layered past written into the very walls.
Researchers can access electoral rolls from 1960 onward, lists of freedom fighters, land records, and old newspapers from Tamil Nadu. Plan ahead for your visit since the collections are large and you will need time to search through the materials.
During World War II, the entire collection was moved to a secret location to protect it from potential Japanese attacks on the city. This extraordinary effort shows how important these records were considered for the region's future and memory.
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