The Kanpur Memorial Church, originally known as the All Souls' Church, is a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located in Kanpur,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

that belongs to the Church of North India, a

united Protestant A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

denomination. It was built in 1875 in honour of British valour during the

Siege of Cawnpore The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in ret ...

in 1857.

Location

The church is situated on Albert Lane near Cawnpore Club in Kanpur Cantonment. It is situated in the heart of the cantonment.

Architecture

The church was designed by Walter Granville, architect of the East Bengal Railway. The complete church in Lombardic

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...

is attractively executed in bright red brick with polychrome dressings. To the east of the church is the memorial garden which can only be approached through one gateway. It has a handsome carved Gothic screen designed by Henry Yule. Its centre is occupied by a beautiful carved figure of an angel by Baron

Carlo Marochetti Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...

, with crossed arms, holding palons, i.e. symbols of peace. This carved figure was created in memory of the

Bibighar massacre The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in retu ...

, where Indian rebels killed approximately 200 unarmed European women and children with guns and cleavers, throwing their remains into a nearby well and burying some survivors under the pile of bodies.

References

Churches in Uttar Pradesh Anglican church buildings in India Religious buildings and structures in Kanpur Churches completed in 1875 1875 establishments in India {{India-church-stub