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Morgan House, Kalimpong

Morgan House
Morgan House, Kalimpong is a colonial British mansion
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Former names	Singamari Tourist Lodge, Durpin Tourist Lodge
General information
Status	Converted to Hotel
Type	Mansion
Architectural style	British colonial architecture
Location	Kalimpong, West Bengal
Address	Chandraloke, Kalimpong, West Bengal 734301
Town or city	Kalimpong
Country	India
Coordinates	27°02′43″N 88°27′39″E / 27.045380°N 88.460942°E / 27.045380; 88.460942
Elevation	4480.47 feet/1365.65 metre
Current tenants	West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation
Groundbreaking	1930
Height
Architectural	British colonial architecture
Technical details
Material	Stone, Wood
Floor count	2
Lifts/elevators	0
Grounds	16 acres
Other information
Number of rooms	7
Parking	Available
Website
https://www.wbtdcl.com/home/lodge_search?Lodge_id=OA&Lodge_destinationName=Mw

Morgan House KalimpongorMorgan House is a mansion of British colonial architecture built by an English jute baron George Morgan in the 1930s on the hill station of Kalimpong, Kalimpong district, West Bengal. Today, the mansion is a hotel managed by West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC). Earlier this property was also known as Singamari Tourist Lodge or Durpin Tourist Lodge.^[1]

Location[edit]

Morgan House is built on a sixteen-acre estate atop the mountain of Durpindara. It is situated three kilometers off the center of Kalimpong town and has a clear view of the Kangchenjunga mountain range.^[2] The mansion and the estate is surrounded by the Kalimpong Cantonment area and overlooks the valleys of Relli, Kapher, Deolo and Labha^[3] in various directions.

Morgan House is 75 km from Siliguri, 52 km from Darjeeling and 75 km from Gangtok by road. Nearest railway station is in New Jalpaiguri and nearest airport is in Pakyong.

History[edit]

Morgan house is a British colonial mansion built in the early 1930s. The building was to commemorate the wedding of an indigo plantation owner with a jute baron George Morgan.^{[citation needed]}

The property was used as a summer retreat and elaborate parties were hosted. It passed into the hand of trustees after the Morgans died without heir.^[2] It was further handed over to government of India post Indian independence. During 1962, after then prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru was taken ill, plans were made to convert this house into a government rest house.

However, due to sudden demise of Jawahar Lal Nehru,^[4][5] this plan was abandoned. In 1965 it was handed to tourism department and in 1975 it was finally handed over to West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation. Since then it is being managed as a boutique hotel and is open to tourists.

Popular culture[edit]

Indian actors and celebrities such as Uttam Kumar, Supriya, Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Leena Chandavarkar, Nargis, Sunil Dutt and Om Prakash have stayed in this lodge and their testimonials can be seen framed in the lounge.^[6] Actor Utpal Dutt was also a regular visitor.^[1] American ambassador in India Chester Bowles stayed here.^[2]

This lodge is also considered to be haunted and has been featured in several lists of haunted lodges and hotels.^[7][8][9]

Gallery[edit]

• 
  The front of the lodge from the parking area
• 
  Stone chimneys
• 
  Interior wooden staircase
• 
  The approach road leading to Morgan House

• 
  Front corner of Morgan House clad with ivy
• 
  Close-up of rear glass windows of Morgan House
• 
  Morgan House at Night from rear lawn
• 
  Front view of Morgan House from the lawn

See also[edit]

• Kalimpong town
• Kalimpong district
• Durpin Hill
• Deolo
• West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

1. Gordon, Grant (15 March 2012). Cobras in the Rough. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-1-78033-512-4.
2. Mitra, Swati (2011). Wild Trail in Bengal: Travel Guide. Goodearth Publications. ISBN 978-93-80262-16-1.
3. Mehta, Vinod (2004). 100 holidays in the hills and 100 bonus hideaways. Outlook Pub. (India). ISBN 978-81-901724-6-2.
4. The India Travel Planner. Cross Section Publications (P) Limited. 2006.
5. Heritage holidays. Outlook Publishing (India). 2004.
6. Betts, Vanessa; McCulloch, Victoria (10 February 2014). Indian Himalaya Footprint Handbook: Includes Corbett National Park, Darjeeling, Leh, Sikkim. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-907263-88-0.
7. Planet, Lonely; Singh, Sarina; Benanav, Michael; Blasi, Abigail; Clammer, Paul; Elliott, Mark; Harding, Paul; Mahapatra, Anirban; Noble, John; Raub, Kevin (1 September 2015). Lonely Planet India. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74360-975-0.
8. Coxall, Michelle; Greenway, Paul (1 September 1996). Indian Himalaya: a Lonely Planet travel survival kit. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-0-86442-413-6.
9. Desai, Madhavi; Desai, Miki (5 December 2016). The Bungalow in Twentieth-Century India: The Cultural Expression of Changing Ways of Life and Aspirations in the Domestic Architecture of Colonial and Post-colonial Society. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-89347-3.

External links[edit]

• https://www.wbtdcl.com/home/lodge_search?Lodge_id=OA&Lodge_destinationName=Mw
• [1]
• [2]^{[dead link]}
• http://kaluk.in/wbtdc_kalimpong_morgan_house.html

Architecture