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Fort William
Kolkata, India
Fort William, a view from the inside, c. 1828
Type	Fortress
Built	1781
In use	1781 - present
Controlled by	British East India Company, Siraj Ud Daulah, Indian Army
Garrison	Eastern Command
Battles/wars	Battle of Plassey

Fort William is a fort built in Calcutta on the Eastern banks of the river Hooghly, the major distributary of river Ganges during the British Raj. It was named after King William III of England. In front of the fort is the Maidan, which used to be a part of the Fort and is the largest urban park in Calcutta.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Presidency of Fort William 2 Structure 3 External links 4 See also

There are actually two Fort Williams, the old and the new. The original fort was built by the British East India Company under the supervision of John Goldsborough. Sir Charles Eyre started the construction of the old fort by constructing the South-East bastion and the adjacent walls. In 1701, John Beard, the successor of Sir Charles Eyre, added the North-East bastion, and in 1702, he started the construction of the Government House (Factory) at the centre of the fort. The construction of the Old Fort was completed in 1706. Situated near the bank of the river Hooghly, the original building had two stories and projecting wings. A guard room in the fort became the Black Hole of Calcutta.

In 1756, the then Nawab of Bengal, Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah, attacked the fort and conquered the city and changed the name of the city to Alinagar. The Nawab of Bengal, led the British to build a new fort in the Maidan. This was started by Robert Clive in 1758, after the Battle of Plassey (1757) and completed in 1781. The cost of construction was approximately two million pounds. The area around the fort was cleared, and the Maidan became "the Lungs of Kolkata". It streches for around 3 km in the north-south direction and is around 1 km wide.

The fort is octagonal with three sides facing the Hooghly River. The old fort was repaired and used as a customs house from 1766 onwards.

The new fort is still in use, and is used as the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.

Main article: Bengal Presidency

The fort is built of brick and mortar in the shape of an irregular octagon surrounding 5 square km. 5 sides of the octagonal fort look landward and 3 sides towards the river. The fort is surrounded by a moat 9 meter deep and 15 meter broad which can be flooded in times of emergency. There are a total of 6 gates - Chowringhee, Plassey Calcutta, Water Gate St Georges and the Treasury Gate.

• Fort William on catchcal.com
• Governor Generals of Fort William (1774-1834)
• Governors of the presidency of Fort William in West Bengal and Governor Generals of India (1834-1854)

• Fort William College

Forts in India

Achalgarh • Agra Fort • Allahabad Fort • Amber Fort • Asirgarh • Bandhavgarh Fort • Bassein Fort • Bekal Fort • Belapur Fort • Bhimgarh Fort • Bombay Castle • Castella de Aguada • Chanderi fort • Chandragiri • Chandragiri Fort • Chittorgarh Fort • Daulatabad • Delhi Fort • Dongri Fort • Fort Arnala • Fort St George • Fort William • Gingee Fort • Golkonda • Gohad Fort • Gwalior Fort • Harishchandragad • Hosdurg Fort • Jaigarh Fort • Jaisalmer Fort • Jalore Fort • Junagarh Fort • Kalinjar • Kankwadi • Kolaba Fort • Kumbhalgarh • Lal Kot • Lohagad • Lohagarh Fort • Madh Fort • Mahim Fort • Mandu • Mazagon Fort • Mehrangarh Fort • Murud-Janjira • Nahar Singh Mahal • Nahargarh Fort • Narwar fort • Old Fort, Delhi • Padmadurg • Palakkad Fort • Pallipuram Fort • Panhala • Povval Fort • Pratapgad • Qila Rai Pithora • Raigad • Riwa Fort • Sewri Fort • Shivneri Fort • Sindhudurg • Sinhgad • Sion Hillock Fort • St. Angelo Fort • Sudhagad • Taragarh Fort • Thalassery Fort • Tikona • Tughlaqabad • Udayagiri Fort • Vellore Fort • Worli Fort