Summary
A Bengali-style chhatri containing the tomb of the Raja Rammohun Roy, noted socio-religious reformer, erected in 1844.
Reasons for Designation
The chhatri containing the tomb of Rammohun Roy in Arnos Vale Cemetery is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest
* Rammohun Roy was a prominent and highly important socio-religious reformer in the early-C19, his work helped to bring about reform in both India and England and he is considered to be figure of national importance.
Architectural interest:
* the chhatri is a fine and unusual example of an Anglo-Indian monument, designed by the architect William Prinsep;
* as a pre-1840 monument of high design quality, with particularly fine detailing and carvings;
* as a prominent and highly decorative monument within Arnos Vale Cemetery, the chattri occupies an important position at the entrance of this significant Victorian landscaped cemetery.
History
Rammohun Roy was born in Radhanagar, Bengal, India in 1774. Rammohun was married several times during his childhood; polygamy and child marriage were common in the Rarhi Brahman caste that the family belonged to. Rammohun received his education in Patna and Calcutta and by 1815 he had learned the languages of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic and English.
In the first years of the C19, Rammohun worked in Calcutta with the East India Trading Company, lending money to the British and investing in land. He was successful in this business and went on to become a translator for the company. Whilst in Calcutta he produced influential works in several languages and corresponded with noted philanthropists in both Britain and the United States. Rammohun was key to the establishment of Indian journalism and was the founder of several journals.
Rammohun successfully campaigned against suttee or sati, the practice which saw widows immolating themselves on their husband’s pyre or committing suicide shortly after his death; the practice was subsequently forbidden by the provincial government of Bengal in 1829. Rammohun also wrote extensively about religion, believing that all religions held value in their teaching of a belief in God. In 1803 his first work on the subject was published titled ‘Tuhfat al-muwahhidin’ or ‘Gift to monotheists’. Rammohun criticised the worship of imagery which was prevalent in Hinduism; he also did not believe in the Christian worship of the Holy Trinity. His views were therefore aligned with the ideology of the Unitarians. In Calcutta he led a group of Hindu Unitarians and in 1828 he founded the ‘Brahmo Sabha’ or ‘Theistic Society’ which became a particularly influential socio-religious movement.
In 1830 he travelled with his adopted son, Rajahram Roy, as a diplomat to England on behalf of the Mughal emperor Akbar II, who gave him the princely title of Raja. Rammohun attended the coronation of William IV in an effort to appeal to the monarch for additional funding for the emperor. Rammohun spent two years in London and was involved in both British and Indian political issues, publishing in 1832 his ‘Exposition of the Practical Operation of the Judicial and Revenue Systems of India’. In September 1833 he travelled to Bristol to visit Unitarian friends following an invitation from Reverend Lant Carpenter. During this visit he influenced Lant’s daughter, Mary Carpenter, who campaigned in Bristol and went on to successfully bring about national social and penal reform.
Rammohun died in Stapleton, Bristol on 27 September 1833. The exact cause of his death is not known though at the time it was believed that an inflammation of the brain was to blame. In 1843 his remains were moved from Stapleton to Arnos Vale cemetery in Bristol with the Bengali-style chhatri erected in 1844 to designs by William Prinsep. The chhatri was erected with funds provided by Rammohun’s friend Dwarkanath Tagore who resided in Calcutta.
Details
A Bengali-style chhatri containing the tomb of the Raja Rammohun Roy, noted socio-religious reformer, erected in 1844.
Materials: constructed of limestone
Description: the chhatri is constructed of ashlar stone and is cruciform on plan. Above the roof is a slender dome with carved stone leaves and pinnacle. The roof is supported by twelve ornately carved columns which are fluted at the top and continue above the roof as pinnacles to surround the dome. Finely carved capitals top the columns with ovolo moulding across three tiers. The columns each feature a square stone block at their centre, with quatrefoil carvings. Further rectangular blocks are at the bottom of the columns, each above a moulded foot. The structure is supported by a tall plinth. Inside the chhatri, beneath the dome, is a large rectangular stone tablet which sits on a step and is inscribed with:
BENEATH THIS STONE REST THE REMAINS OF/ RAJA RAMMOHUN ROY BAHADOOR,/ A CONSCIENTIOUS AND STEADFAST BELIEVER IN THE UNITY OF THE GODHEAD,/ HE CONSECRATED HIS LIFE WITH ENTIRE DEVOTION TO THE WORSHIP OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT ALONE,/ TO GREAT NATURAL TALENTS, HE UNITED THROUGH MASTERY OF MANY LANGUAGES/ AND EARLY DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF AS ONE OF THE GREATEST SCHOLARS OF HIS DAY./ HIS UNWEARIED LABOURS TO PROMOTE THE SOCIAL, MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITION OF THE/ PEOPLE OF INDIA, HIS EARNEST ENDEAVOURS TO SUPPRESS IDOLATRY, AND THE RITE OF SUTTEE/ AND HIS CONSTANT ZEALOUS ADVOCACY OF WHATEVER TENDED TO ADVANCE THE GLORY OF/ GOD AND THE WELFARE OF MAN LIVE IN THE GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF HIS COUNTRYMEN./ THIS TABLET/ RECORDS THE SORROW AND PRIDE WITH WHICH HIS MEMORY IS CHERISHED BY HIS DESCENDANTS./ HE WAS BORN AT RADHANAGARE IN BENGAL IN 1774,/ AND DIED AT BRISTOL SEPTEMBER 27TH 1833.
