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==History== | ==History== | ||
[[File:Company rule calcutta from ftwilliam.jpg|right|thumb|A view of [[Calcutta]] from [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] (c.{{nbsp}}1807)]] | [[File:Company rule calcutta from ftwilliam.jpg|right|thumb|rght|A view of [[Calcutta]] from [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] (c.{{nbsp}}1807)]] | ||
[[File:Esplanade Row - Right of Government House (1829).jpg| | [[File:Esplanade Row - Right of Government House (1829).jpg|right|thumb|A view of the mansions, including [[Raj Bhavan, Kolkata|Government House]], that lined the north side of the Maidan]] | ||
In 1758, one year after their decisive win in Battle of Plassey, the British East India Company commenced construction of the new [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] in the center of the village [[Gobindapur, Kolkata|Gobindapur]]. The inhabitants of the village were compensated and provided with land in Taltala, Kumartuli and Shovabazar. The fort was completed in 1773.{{quote|The tiger-haunted jungle which cut off the village of [[Chowringhee]] from the river was cleared, and gave way to the wide grassy stretch of the Maidan of which Calcutta is so proud. The formation of this airy expanse and the filling up of the creek which had cut off the settlement in the south, led the European inhabitants to gradually forsake the narrow limits of the old palisades. The movement towards Chowringhee had already been noticeable as early as 1746.<ref>Cotton, H.E.A., ''Calcutta Old and New'', 1909/1980, p. 72, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.</ref>}} | In 1758, one year after their decisive win in Battle of Plassey, the British East India Company commenced construction of the new [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] in the center of the village [[Gobindapur, Kolkata|Gobindapur]]. The inhabitants of the village were compensated and provided with land in Taltala, Kumartuli and Shovabazar. The fort was completed in 1773.{{quote|The tiger-haunted jungle which cut off the village of [[Chowringhee]] from the river was cleared, and gave way to the wide grassy stretch of the Maidan of which Calcutta is so proud. The formation of this airy expanse and the filling up of the creek which had cut off the settlement in the south, led the European inhabitants to gradually forsake the narrow limits of the old palisades. The movement towards Chowringhee had already been noticeable as early as 1746.<ref>Cotton, H.E.A., ''Calcutta Old and New'', 1909/1980, p. 72, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.</ref>}} | ||
[[File:Ground of Calcutta Cricket Club, 15th Jan'y 1861 - Percy Carpenter.png|thumb|''Ground of the Calcutta Cricket Club, 15th Jan'y. 1861 H.M. 68th L.I. from Rangoon, versus the Calcutta Cricket Club'', a [[lithograph]] after a [[watercolour painting|watercolour]] by [[Percy Carpenter]], depicting [[Calcutta Cricket Club]], with the Maidan in the background ]] | [[File:Ground of Calcutta Cricket Club, 15th Jan'y 1861 - Percy Carpenter.png|thumb|''Ground of the Calcutta Cricket Club, 15th Jan'y. 1861 H.M. 68th L.I. from Rangoon, versus the Calcutta Cricket Club'', a [[lithograph]] after a [[watercolour painting|watercolour]] by [[Percy Carpenter]], depicting [[Calcutta Cricket Club]], with the Maidan in the background ]] | ||
In 1883–1884 the Maidan, along with grounds of the | In 1883–1884 the Maidan, along with grounds of the Indian Museum, hosted the [[Calcutta International Exhibition]].<ref name="photobookfound">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1131202/jsp/calcutta/story_17607534.jsp#.WGzIWVwiV8E|access-date=4 January 2017|title=Retro look: unseen shots of 1883}}</ref> | ||
In 1909, | In 1909, H.E.A. Cotton wrote,{{quote|The great Maidan presents a most refreshing appearance to the eye, the heavy night dew, even in the hot season, keeping the grass green. Many of the fine trees with which it was once studded were blown down in the cyclone of 1864. But they have not been allowed to remain without successors, and the handsome avenues across the Maidan still constitute the chief glory of Calcutta. Dotting the wide expanse are a number of fine tanks, from which the inhabitants were content in former days to obtain their water-supply.<ref name = "Cotton220">Cotton, H.E.A., pp. 220–221.</ref>}} | ||
In Bengali, the maidan is called 'Garh-er maath'. 'Garh', in Bengali, means fort and its meaning literally translates to the 'fort's ground'. | In Bengali, the maidan is called 'Garh-er maath'. 'Garh', in Bengali, means fort and its meaning literally translates to the 'fort's ground'. | ||
[[File:Grand field day at Calcutta.jpg|thumb|180px|Grand field day on the ground, 1847]] | [[File:Grand field day at Calcutta.jpg|thumb|180px|Grand field day on the ground, 1847]] | ||