Original Site and Development of the Settlement
History of the City of Madras
Chapter – 2
- Damarla Venkatappa and his brother Aiyappa played a key role in securing the land for Fort St. George.
- The Nayak initially offered Day a plot of land to build a fort, with the subsequent grant dated 22nd August 1639, giving the English authority to erect a fort “in or about Madraspatam.”
- The land granted for the fort was enclosed between the Cooum River and the North River (later known as Cochrane’s Canal), stretching from the present Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway to the General Hospital.
- The area covered by the fort included a bend of the North River at the south-western extremity of the General Hospital grounds, near the Stanley Viaduct.
- A canal was cut before the end of the 17th century, connecting the Cooum and North River, likely to equalize flood levels.
- This area formed an island, enclosed between the two rivers and the canal, providing open space for the city and used for the manufacture of salt.