Chapslee Estate Chapslee Estate is a small locality adjacent to the Lakkar Bazaar in Shimla , Himachal Pradesh . The estate houses the erstwhile Secretary ' s Lodge which is now a heritage hotel run by the Maharaja of Kapurthala . History . Chapslee is one of the oldest estates in Shimlato having been built between 1828 and 1835 . It was built by Doctor Blake , a surgeon in the service of the British East India Company . Lord Auckland , Governor General of the East India Company Territories , was a resident of the adjoining Auckland House . Finding the accommodation insufficient , he took this property first on rent and later purchased it in 1836 , to house his private & Military Secretaries , ‘ Aides De Camps ’ ( ADC ’ s ) and named it ‘ Secretary ’ s Lodge ’ . The Estate now has a school on it , and the home is run as an exclusive , heritage home by the owner Kanwar Ratanjit Singh and his family . He is the grandson of Raja Charanjit Singh of Kapurthala . First Anglo - Afghan War . In June 1838 , a tripartite treaty between the Government of India , Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja was signed for the latter ' s restoration . Following this , Lord Auckland issued the Simla Manifesto announcing the intention of the Government of India to restore Shah Shuja to the throne of Afghanistan . The ‘ Simlah Manifesto ’ , declaring the first war with Afghanistan , was issued from ‘ Secretary ’ s Lodge ’ on 1 October 1838 . Lord Ellenborough , who succeeded Lord Auckland as Governor General acknowledged the failure of Lord Auckland ’ s policy in Afghanistan . On 1 October 1842 , precisely four years after the issue of the Simla Manifesto , the Government proclaimed its altered intentions . Lord Hardinge , who succeeded Lord Ellenborough as Governor General , continued to use Secretary ’ s Lodge as the Government Secretariat . General Peter Innes of the Bengal Army purchased Secretary ’ s Lodge in 1848 and changed its name to Chapslee . General Innes sold the house in 1870 and , thereafter , it changed hands every few years and served as the residence of famous persons , including Sir Courtenay Ilbert , General Pemberton , General Sir C . E . Nairne , Surgeon - General Bradshaw , Surgeon - General Cleghorn and so on . Sir Arthur Milford Ker , manager of the Alliance Bank , eventually purchased it in 1896 , and improved its looks to the way it stands today . He not only retained the original structure but enlarged it significantly . Raja Charanjit Singh of Kapurthala purchased the estate after the demise of Sir Arthur Ker . He converted it to his summer residence and refurnished the interiors . Raja Charanjit Singh died in 1970 . Kanwar Ratanjit Singh , the grandson of the Late Raja Charanjit Singh of Kapurthala , is the present owner . He started a school , known as ‘ Chapslee School ’ , on the premises in 1973 and converted the estate to a hotel in 1976 . Chapslee was one of the first ‘ heritage hotel s ’ in India . Parts of the estate were sold to different people in the 1970s post the land ceiling act imposed by the Government of India . In keeping with the rule of restricted roads in Shimla , only vehicles with special permit are allowed to ply through the estate road . The estate is en route to Longwood , a residential locality of Shimla .