137-139 Addiscombe Road, Ashleigh and India Houses

Built 1848

Addiscombe College (or Seminary, as it was originally known) was founded in 1809 by the Honourable East India Company to train officers, especially Engineers and Artillery, for their Indian regiments.  The grand mansion which was the main college building had been built by William Draper, the son-in-law of the famous diarist John Evelyn, in 1703.

It stood on the edge of what is now Outram Road, facing east.

Also within the boundaries of the estate was part of the Upper Addiscombe Road where 24 houses were erected. The most important of them were the semi-detached pair known as 'Ashleigh'.  These were the two professors' houses, which are much larger than their two-storey design would suggest.

After the Indian Mutiny of 1857 the British Government took over control of India and amalgamated the forces of the Company with the British Army.  The college was sold in 1861 and the remaining cadets transferred to Sandhurst.

The people of Addiscombe began thinking up their own uses for the temporarily open land but all were refused or turned down.  Thus by 1863 most of the military college had been swept away and replaced by six new roads lined with villas. All that remains is the pair of houses Ashleigh and India, now numbered 137 and 139 Addiscombe Road, and the gymnasium to the rear of Havelock Road.

Back to the Heritage Home Page

Friday, 25 July, 2008

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Submit a Comment / Question to the Webmaster