Original entrance of Bengaluru’s 162-year-old heritage building Beaulieu reopened

Adding to the charm of Bengaluru’s heritage and history, the outstanding Beaulieu building built in the 1860s has undergone a change. The original entrance to this building which houses Karnataka’s Chief Postmaster General office has been reopened after several years.

The entrance which is parallel to Palace Road, is next to the Centre for Continuing Technical Education and Government Polytechnic for Women.

Playing an important role in this makeover was founder of Heritage Beku – a citizen initiative to maintain and preserve Bengaluru’s heritage — Priya-Chetty Rajagopal, who was involved in giving an aesthetic appeal to the entrance in tandem with postal officials since February 2021.

Talking to The New Indian Express Rajagopal said: “I always felt something was amiss whenever I looked at the building. It suddenly dawned on me early last year, in pouring rain actually, that the right view of the building was obtained only from its back portion. After some research I learnt that this was the original entrance that had been closed decades ago.”

She was delighted when the postal department agreed to her recommendation. “This change can create a huge difference in the perception of people about the heritage building.”

“Beaulieu”, which in French means beautiful place, was built by George Lancelot William Rickets who was born in the city in 1831. A multifaceted personality, he was a judge, deputy commissioner, first Inspector General of Police in Mysore State and also founder-editor of Mysore Gazette.

Built on 24 acres, there were stables, wells, a pond and outhouses on the premises. In 1900 Ricketts sold it to the Mysore royal family.