The Residency: Lucknow

The uprising of 1857 occupies a very special place in the history of India. A significant milestone, it marked a departure from earlier protests against a century old domination by the East India Company. An uprising that started as a mutiny, snowballed into a rebellion with a wide mass base and popular appeal. The nature of the British colonial structure and imperialism changed after the revolt, such was its force and impact. Lucknow was one of the important centres of this uprising. Among its historic buildings the residency figured prominently in the events of 1857: a long siege of this bastion of the company’s might by the rebels was one of the high points of the revolt of 1857. To this day, its ruins stand as a mute witness to the intense resistance to domination by a foreign power. The museum which the Archaeological Survey of India has set up in the residency complex, Lucknow, transports viewers back to the year 1857, giving them an insight into the events and the mood of the ti