Just across the road from where I stay is a quaint, whitewashed 19th Century Protestant Church with red shutters, exquisite stained glass windows, and wooden rafters holding up the ceiling. Just across the road is a little bit of England.
The St Stephen’s Church of the Church of North India Diocese of Mumbai, was built in 1845 by wealthy English entrepreneurs who had made Bandra their home during the British Raj. In the mid-19th Century, Bandra was but a small village with Kolis and Kunbis. To cater to ‘the spiritual needs’ of the British Protestant Christians in the area, the British parishioners got together and pooled in a then magnificent sum of Rs. 8,000. This was, however, not enough. John Vaupel, a high court judge at that time, pitched in with the balance.
The church was consecrated in 1853 – It is the first and only Anglican Church in Bombay’s suburbs.
What is most endearing about the church, for me at least, has to be its simplicity. Surrounded by towering trees, the cross shaped neo-Gothic edifice topped by a lofty ceiling could not possibly seat more than 150 at a time.
Everyday, the prettiness of its picturesqueness, embellishes my view from my window. On Sunday mornings, the strains of the choir float into my apartment. And the lilting voices, embellish my day 🙂
Bare walls and bejeweled windows; The stained glass windows, made in England, are dedicated to the parishioners
The listing of the church’s Reverends since 1880
rama toshi arya's blog 
Lovely photos of the church. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank YOU 🙂 Its a lovely church.
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How beautiful, loved the history behind that church too 🙂
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Thank you Loretta. 🙂
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Your blogs are well researched,cleverly compiled.excellently written and edited…amounts to a very informative and good reading.We are enriched by a sensitive mind that can see and also share a first person experience of the same.so thank you.
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Swagata, thank you for stopping by and your kind and encouraging words – inspires me to keep writing and posting ! 🙂
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Hey Rama, I absolutely love the articles you write about Bandra. It’s concise and very informative. I’m doing a college project for my Urban Heritage paper and it is on the Bubonic Plague of 1896( Bombay specifically), I was wondering if St. Stephen’s Church had anything to do with the Plague? Also, do you know of any other places like St. Anne’s Pali Hill that have a strong connection to the 1896 Plague?
Thanks!
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Hello Rhea, thank you for your kind words. 🙂 Appreciated. I don’t know about St. Stephen’s having any association with the plague, but the crosses in Bandra are directly related to the epidemic. You might find this post by jalebiink useful: http://jalebiink.com/?p=584
Good luck with your project!
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Lovely. thanks for sharing the pics. I have few on my blog as well.
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