La Martiniere College

Born at Lyon, France in 1735, Claude Martin was the son of a cooper. At the age of sixteen, he enlisted in the French army and arrived in India in 1752 to begin his military career. After the Siege of Pondicherry he could foresee the end of French hopes in India and threw in his lot with the English. It was a sound choice as undeterred by early setbacks and by virtue of his numerous skills  and qualities, Martin rose to the rank of Major-General and amassed a vast fortune. Claude Martin  was indeed a remarkable man. Besides his abilities as a soldier, he was much else. He was an  outstanding surveyor, and Rennel made him his deputy for preparing the first authentic and  scientific maps of a region extending from Assam to Oudh. While in Oudh, he attracted the attention of Asaf-ud-daula, the Nawab-Vizir, who asked the governor general for the loan of Martin’s services. Being totally devoid of political ambition, Claude Martin became a close confidante of the Nawab-Vizir and a power behind the scenes. He spent the remainder of his life at Lucknow where by a mixture of skill, hard work and good fortune, he became the richest European in Lucknow, so rich the he was able to lend 250,000 pounds to Nawab Asaf-ud-daula.During the twenty-four years that he spent at Lucknow his genius flowered. He was in-charge of the state arsenal, the site on which Raj Bhawan stands today. He also manufactured cannon, ammunition, bells and coins. A self-taught architect, he designed and constructed several outstanding buildings, some of which, including the Chattar Manzil and Bibiapur Kothi can still be seen in Lucknow. Perhaps the grandest of all the buildings designed by him is “Constantia”, which is now over 200 years old. Historians believe that the name “Constantia” was derived from Martin’s motto “Labore et Constantia”, which is engraved over one of the balconies of the building. But romantic people like to think that it was named after his first love, Constance, whom he left behind in France when he came to India to seek his fortune. “Constantia”, his country house and tomb at Lucknow, is a curious building in a blend of styles which compulsively draws attention to itself. It has been described as “a wedding cake in brick”, a “Gothic castle” and a “baroque folly”. It is this building which forms the focal point of La Martiniere, Lucknow.