page_title: Metcalfe House
section_title: The Retreat or Dilkhusha
hierarchical_section_title: Metcalfe House / The Retreat or Dilkhusha
caption_attribution_description: English: Tomb of Md. Quli Khan. Folio from Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi, by Thomas Metcalfe , 1843
context_page_description: Metcalfe House is the name given to two residential houses built in the 19th century in Delhi; one is near Old Delhi Civil Lines and the other is in Mehrauli, South Delhi. These were built by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet, a Civil Servant, when he was the Governor General’s last British Resident at the Mughal Court of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II.
  The first house near the Civil Lines, called the ‘town house’, was built in 1835 in colonial style, near the present day Inter State Bus Terminal. He resided there till his death in 1853. It was badly damaged during the 1857 Indian War of Independence. It was repaired subsequently. His son Sir Theophilus Metcalfe inherited it. The house exchanged hands several times before it finally came under the possession of the Government of India. Between 1920 and 1926, it also remained the seat of the Council of State of the Central Legislative Assembly, which eventually paved way for the present Rajya Sabha, till the inauguration of the Parliament House in New Delhi.
context_section_description: The second house in Mehrauli was initially a tomb of Muhammad Quli Khan, brother of Adham Khan, a general and foster brother of Emperor Akbar. The octagonal Mughal tomb built in the 17th century was bought by Metcalfe and remodeled in the style of European residences with extensive gardens and follies for use as a pleasure resort during the monsoon season. He called it the ‘Dilkhusha’ (also see under External link of the album showing two pictures of Dilkusha as it existed when built). It was spread over a sprawling area, which is now enclosed in a specially developed park called the ‘Qutub Archaeological Village’.  The purpose in building this place was stated to be that Metcalfe wanted to keep a watch on Emperor Bahadur Shah II who also had his Zafar Mahal palace in Mehrauli to spend his summer time.
  The complex was a pleasant place with several controlled streamlets of water, which led to a tank (now called the Metcalfe’s Boathouse and Dovecote). The tank was dated to the Lodi Dynasty period. This was refurbished by Metcalfe for use, for boating and swimming. Steps built from the boathouse lead to his Dilkhusha. With a retinue of servants, the immaculately kept place was stated to be an ideal setting for honeymooning couples. He also built, in "pseudo Mughal" style, a Chhatri (kiosk) or a folly with a dome and arches, and few other follies known as Garhganjs (in the form of a spiral and square stepped ziggurats).
  All of the above can be seen in the Archaeological Park (a special enclosure created recently), which has strategically placed signages showing directions to the various heritage monuments. This village was created by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), south of the Qutub Minar(see External Link on page 6 for the Map of the Archaeological Village).
  
  The retreat had been built like a citadel with the folly (also called the only landlocked light house) in the Indo–Persian baradari style. The folly was built opposite to the remodelleld tomb of Quli Khan, surrounded by a sprawling garden. The central hall of the tomb was converted into a dining hall. Two wings were added as annexes, out of which ruins of only one is seen now. He also converted some of the old buildings around the tomb into guesthouse, staff quarters and stables. It is also recorded that Metcalfe, the fastidious person that he was, spent lot of time at this place during his 40 years of life in Delhi.  He loved this retreat and had a set of rooms made for use as a study and also lodgings for his daughter Emily to stay with him, while his wife and son lived in the formal town house in the old city. Thomas’s fondness for this place is reflected in his own words: 
  The ruins of grandeur that extend for miles on every side fill it with serious reflection,” he wrote. “The palaces crumbling into dust... the myriads of vast mausoleums, every one of which was intended to convey to futurity the deathless fame of its cold inhabitant, and all of which are now passed by, unknown and unnoticed. These things cannot be looked at with indifference.
  During recent restoration works carried out on the tomb, some remains of Hindu temples have been found, though the date of building the tomb is as yet unclear.
caption: Dilkhusha, the Metcalfe House in Qutb Complex built by Metcalfe as a retreat -A Painting from his Folio published in 1843
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