Lahore College for Women University

Department Of Architecture

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN - V

DOCUMENTATION OF TOLLINTON MARKET, LAHORE

SUBMITTED BY:
KHIZRA SHAHZAD
ROLL # 1428
Session 2012-2017
DATED: NOVEMBER 3RD, 2015
 TOLLINTON MARKET

HISTORY:
 In 1864 as a result of the Industrial revolution of the 1850’s, a movement started in the Punjab for
developing local arts and industries. Subsequently, it was decided to organize the First Punjab Exhibition
in Lahore.
 To display vast number of exhibits, a special building, now known as Tollinton Market, was erected in
the vicinity of the famous Anarkali Bazaar.
 While Mr. Lockwood Kipling, C.I.E. was Curator of the Museum, the design of the building was
prepared by Bhai Ram Singh. The building was completed in 1894, and all the collections were
immediately transferred to it.
 Sir Robert Montgomerie opened the exhibition in January 1864.
 In May 1864 it was converted into a Central Museum.
 In 1893 the Old Central Museum was shifted to the new Building.
 In 1895 Sir Ganga Ram repaired the Halls for converting it into a Municipal Market.
 In 1920 the Market was repaired with alterations and named Tollinton.
 The Illustrated London News printed a couple of sketches showing the façade
and the interior of Tollinton market, so important was this exhibition center.
 The name Tollinton market was the name of a Lahore District Commissioner.
It is not clear whether the name was Tollinton or Tollington.
 TOLLINTON MARKET

BATTLE FOR TOLLINTON MARKET: 1994 – 2000:

The Land Mafia [ aka Qabza Group] of Lahore along with the minions of Lahore Development authority and
the Lahore Municipal Corporation became the [10 storey] Plaza & Parking Lot protagonists.
On the conservation side were the Museum of Lahore, the Pakistan Heritage Foundation , Lahore Conservation
Society and the Ajuman-e Mimaran whose President is Kamil Khan Mumtaz .
Dr Ahmed Hasan Dani was also on the board of the Lahore Museum and is perhaps the most important & senior
archaeologist of Pakistan.
Dr. Ajaz Anwar held a slide show on 30th October 1994 to "Save Tollinton". In addition he painted a water
color of the Tollinton Market called Gambit .
All buildings over 75 years old are protected by the Antiquities act amended in 1992.
The details of the Tollinton Market Battle are documented in a calendar brought out in 1997 by Dr Ajaz Anwar
[Professor at NCA, Lahore] on Tollinton Market.
Around 1994, a group of students at the NCA spontaneously took to the streets and fellow Lahoris joined them
in their protest to save the Tollinton market building.
The government eventually decided to save the Tollinton market building by renovating
it and also by donating RS 40 million to carry out the repairs
[ actual spent is about Rs 30million].
 TOLLINTON MARKET

MEMORIES OF TOLLINTON MARKET:

Scholars & Students from the nearby institutions of Punjab University, Government College, King Edward
Medical College, and the National College of Arts have always dropped by and served as the plebian/proletarian
customers of Tollinton market.
One remembers the Tangiers Milk Bar and the Capri Restaurant. Shopping by the Begums of Lahore [BOLs]
was also a key economic indicator.
Al Fatah stores now near Liberty Market in Gulberg was situated at the end of the building.
The building housed a Meat & Fish Market in one Hall with high roofs and a Vegetable & Fruit market Hall at
the other end. In 1950’s as kids we would frequent these places with our shopping mothers.
Later in our 1960’s student days, the favourite snacks were the "Bund Kebabs" with Cokes or a "Hunters Beef"
sandwich. Outside on the verandah were the Magazine shops.
During Christmas, turkeys would be sold by the poultry merchants who eventually [courtesy the foul smell of
the chicken refuse ] managed to destroy the Tollinton market and were moved to Jail Road.
Tollinton Market big shoppers /customers have included the rich and powerful,
from the governors of Punjab to the senior Civil servants and the feudal gentry.
 TOLLINTON MARKET
INTERVENTION
FROM A MUSEUM TO A MARKET:
The building was constructed in 1864 to host the Punjab Exhibition which was inaugurated by Lt Governor Sir
Robert Montgomery and showcased manufactured goods, antiques and paintings.
Later that year, one wing of the building served as the Lahore Museum while the remainder was used as a hall
for public meetings.
A few decades later, probably in the late 1910s, the building was converted into a market where one could buy
fresh fruit and vegetables, groceries and poultry.

A MARKET EVOLVES:
Over the years, the number of shops in the Market increased and included ones that sold ornaments, spices, tea,
books and even birds, much like Empress Market in Karachi.
All this in addition to several dhaabas and restaurants. Unfortunately, although during the Raj it was known to
be “spanking clean” it fell prey to neglect and disrepair and ceased to be a
shopping venue for the city’s elite.
 TOLLINTON MARKET
COMING FULL CIRCLE:
 In 2006, the Market was closed down.
The interior was renovated and the exterior restored, after which it was converted into a museum once again –
the Lahore Heritage Museum.
It comprises three halls, and so far the Museum has only been open to the public on a few occasions such as
when seminars, photography and art exhibitions have been held there.
Plans are underway to set up a ‘Hall of Fame’ in the Museum, where photographs of well-known residents of
Lahore (ranging from Sir Ganga Ram, Rudyard Kipling to Noor Jehan and Ustad Alah Baksh) will be displayed.
BOOKS, CLOTHES AND MORE:
The famous Anarkali Bazaar is located nearby which is always worth a trip thanks to the presence of a
multitude of stores that deal in art supplies, electronic appliances, fabrics, handicrafts, shoes and stationery.
Mall Road, for its part, attracts its fair share of visitors, mainly due to well-known bookshops including
Siddique Books, Vanguard Books and Co-Opera within its periphery.
IN A NUTSHELL:
 Although it is a once again a Museum, this colonial structure continues to be
referred to as Tollinton Market.
And while much has changed since it was built, it continues to serve as a
reminder of the days of the Raj.
 TOLLINTON MARKET

BUILDING DESIGN:
The original building, modeled after the prevalent bungalow
design, utilized encircling verandahs with sloping tiled roofs
supported on simple wooden posts.
The main exhibition hall, with a length of 112', rose above the
verandah roof, its pitched roof with gable ends, sporting an array
of dormer windows for bringing natural light into the hall.
Two square towers rose 12' above the roof of the main hall,
supplementing the natural light entering the central section of the
halls.
The facade was designed to express the wooden structure of
the building consisting of posts and a sloping roof fabricated
with wooden trusses, while internally brick walls were used to
support the trusses.
To introduce a feeling of unlimited space, these walls were
punctuated by a multitude of pointed arch openings, around
which displays in the form of stalls were arranged.
 TOLLINTON MARKET
Colonial Revival: 1880-1955:
TYPICAL FEATURES:
Accentuated front door with decorative pediment supported by pilasters or extended forward and supported by
slender columns to form entry porch.
Fanlights and sidelights common; Palladian windows common.
Façade symmetry; centered door; aligned windows.
Double-hung sash windows usually with multi-pane glazing; frequently in adjacent pairs; multi-pane upper
sash with single pane lower sash and bay windows (not historically accurate) were popular.
One-story wings, usually with a flat roof and commonly embellished with a balustrade.
Broken pediments, rare on original colonial structures popular in Colonial Revival examples.
Door surrounds tend to be shallow (less deep) than originals and exhibit machine-planed smoothness.
Dormers, often with exaggerated, eclectic pediments.
Masonry cladding grew in popularity as technology for using brick or stone veneer improved after 1920
Gable, Hipped, or Gambrel roofs.
Details tend to be exaggerated with larger proportions than original elements
Details from two or more types of Colonial styles often combined so pure replicas
of a particular style are far less common than eclectic mixtures.
Interior floor plans are not symmetrical and are more open than historic examples
 TOLLINTON MARKET
COLONIAL ERA, ARCHITECTURE OF LAHORE:
The subcontinent was ruled by the British during 1857-1947
during which they left an impact in the region.
From bringing changes to the values, improving infrastructure
and adding a new side to the architectural side of the sub-continent.
After 1947 Pakistan came to being but it still had been affected by
the changes brought by the British.
Lahore being the heart of Pakistan had gone through several
changes.
The British occupation of Lahore took place in a protracted but
concerted manner.
Different from the Mughal architecture the colonial era
architecture consisted of simpler designs.
The Mughals focused more on constructions of Forts, Palaces and
Mosques while the colonial architecture introduced buildings which
focused more on benefiting the natives such as Universities to
Government offices.
 TOLLINTON MARKET

COLONIAL ERA, ARCHITECTURE OF LAHORE:

The Mughal architecture used arches in windows,
doorways while the new British colonial architecture
introduced cubical shaped building with simple designs
ignoring curves and arches.
Important buildings constructed by the British included
the High Court, Government College, Tollinton Market and
many more. Rather than focusing on massively constructed
buildings, the British focused on smaller buildings through
which they introduced their own architectural designs into
Lahore.
 The colonial era architecture had a few basic designs
such as handcrafted wooden work, high columns giving
support to slopping roofs.
An example of this is the Tollinton Market. The British
introduced the importance of education in the region by
constructing colleges and universities most famous of
which are Aitchison College and The University of Punjab.
TOLLINTON MARKET
INTERIOR VIEW
TOLLINTON MARKET
EXTERIOR VIEW