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The St. George's connection

S. MUTHIAH

Adjacent to the Ampthill painting in the Freemasons' Hall is a burst of Sir Archibald Campbell, Governor of Madras 1786-90. It was Sir Archibald and Lady Campbell who were responsible for the founding of the Male and Female Orphans' Asylums. Both evolved from the school for orphans founded in St. Mary's in the Fort in the 1680s and which became St. Mary's Charity School in 1715.

Encouraged by Lady Campbell, the Rev. Wilhelm Gericke founded the Female Orphans' Asylum in 1787 and this was followed by the Male Orphans' Asylum, headed by Dr. Andrew Bell, who introduced in it the gurukulamsystem of education that he, later, in the 1790s, introduced in Britain with fair success as the Madras System of Education. The two orphanages were run separately in which was known as the Egmore Redoubt, the small fort to the rear of what is now the Egmore Railway Station. In 1871/2, the two orphanages were merged together with St. Mary's Charity School and became known as the Civil Orphans' Asylum. In 1904, the Asylum moved into Conway Gardens, opposite where Pachaiyappa's College now is. And in 1954, it took the name by which it is today known, St. George' Higher Secondary School and Orphanage.

Given its roots, this is the oldest Western style school in the country. And given the Campbell Masonic connection, it is no surprise that the Freemasons of Madras have long been associated with the running of this institution.

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