Fort St . George , India Fort St George ( or historically , White Town ) is the name of the first English ( later British ) fortress in India , founded in 1644 at the coastal city of Madras , the modern city of Chennai . The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity , in what was originally an uninhabited land . Thus , it is a feasible contention to say that the city evolved around the fortress . The fort is one of the 163 notified areas ( megalithic sites ) in the state of Tamil Nadu . History . The East India Company , which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities , had begun licensed trading at Surat , which was its initial bastion . However , to secure its trade lines and commercial interests in the spice trade , it felt the necessity of a port closer to the Malaccan Straits , and succeeded in purchasing a piece of coastal land , originally called " Chennirayarpattinam " or " Channapatnam " , from a Vijayanagar chieftain named Damerla Chennappa Nayaka based in Chandragiri , where the Company began the construction of a harbour and a fort . The fort was completed on 23 April 1644 , coinciding with St George ' s Day , celebrated in honour of the patron saint of England . The fort , hence christened Fort St George , faced the sea and some fishing villages , and it soon became the hub of merchant activity . It gave birth to a new settlement area called George Town ( historically referred to as Black Town ) , which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras . It also helped to establish English influence over the Carnatic and to keep the kings of Arcot and Srirangapatna , as well as the French forces based at Pondicherry , at bay . The Fort is a stronghold with six - meter high walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century . It briefly passed into the possession of the French from 1746 to 1749 , but was restored to Great Britain under the Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle , which ended the War of the Austrian Succession . The Fort now serves as one of the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state and it still houses a garrison of troops in transit to various locations at South India and the Andaman s . The Fort Museum contains many relics of the " Raj " era , including portraits of many of the Governors of Madras . The fort is maintained and administered by the Archaeological Survey of India as a ticketed monument . Buildings inside the fort . The church . St . Mary ' s Church is the oldest Anglican church in India . It was built between 1678 and 1680 . The tombstones in its graveyard are the oldest English or British tombstones in India . This ancient prayer house solemnized the marriages of Robert Clive and Governor Elihu Yale , who later became the first benefactor of Yale University in the United States . The church is popularly known as the ' Westminster Abbey of the East ' . Museum . The Fort Museum exhibits many items of the period of English and later British rule . This building was completed in 1795 and first housed the office of the Madras Bank . The hall upstairs was the Public Exchange Hall and served as a place for public meetings , lottery draws and occasional entertainment . These relics are reminders of British rule in India . The objects on display in the museum are the weapons , coins , medals , uniforms and other artifacts from England , Scotland , France and India dating back to the colonial period . Original letters written by Clive and Cornwallis make fascinating reading . One set of quaint period uniforms is displayed for viewing , as well . However , the " piece de resistance " is a large statue of Lord Cornwallis . This is a very modern building Wellesley House . The first floor of the building includes the Banqueting Hall , which holds paintings of the Governor of the Fort and other high officials of the Regime . The cannons of Tipu Sultan decorate the ramparts of the museum . The 14 . 5 ft statue stands at the entrance near a stairway in the museum . This statue was created by Charles Bank in England to be brought to India . The pedestal of the statue is carved with a scene depicting Tipu Sultan ' s emissary handing over Tipu ' s two sons as hostage in lieu of a ransom he was unable to pay to the British . It takes its name from Richard Wellesley , Governor General of India , and brother of the Duke of Wellington . Flag staff . The flag staff at the fort is the tallest in the country . Made of teakwood , it is 150 feet high . In recent years . Fort St George complex housed the administrative buildings of the Government of Tamil Nadu till March 2010 . The Legislature of Tamil Nadu and the secretariat ( with headquarters of various government departments ) was situated in the fort . The fort itself was open to the public however only to a certain area . The main building or the secretariat was open only to government officials and the police . The cannons and the moat which guarded this old building have been left untouched . In 2010 the legislature and the secretariat moved to a new location and the old assembly complex was converted into a library for the Central Institute of Classical Tamil . Following the 2011 assembly elections and the return of J Jayalalithaa as the Chief Minister of the State , the Tamil Nadu Assembly and the Secretariat have been restored to Fort St George . Other monuments . An arch commemorating the diamond jubilee of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is under construction near the Fort on Rajaji Salai close to Napier Bridge . The structure is a replica of Fort St . George ' s façade . The arch will be rectangular in structure with a height of 41 feet and 80 metres width being built at a cost of 13 . 3 million . The structure will be a mix of old and modern architecture , inspired by the frontage of Fort St . George . The legend ' Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly diamond jubilee commemorative arch ' would be inscribed in English and Tamil , in addition to the words ' 60 years ' . The chief minister J . Jayalalitha laid the foundation stone for the arch on 30 October 2012 . Earlier , the arch was planned to be constructed close to the entrance of Fort St . George , but was later relocated beyond the prohibitive zone following the objections of archaeologists . A public interest litigation ( PIL ) was filed in the Madras High Court opposing the move stating that the arch would choke Rajaji Salai that leads to the High Court . However , the petition was dismissed by a division bench on 9 January 2013 .