Gorton Castle - Shimla

Tis is historic building in which HP AUDIT and ACCOUNTS offices are running.

Under costruction since 2014 and at present in very worst condition and need fast recovery to protact the same heritage building .

Nice, architecture established in 1947... accountant general office shimla?❤

The office of the Accountants General, Himachal Pradesh is housed in Gorton Castle Building perched on the top of its own hill. Gorton Castle is a very imposing structure originally constructed in the 19th century and named after its owner, Mr. Gorton, ICS, in 1840. After his death, the building passed on to various hands and lastly was owned by Sir James Walker, who wished to make it a hospital but proposal was later rejected due to non-suitability of site. Then the Government of India, purchased this building for Rs. 1,20,000 in 1900. The new building in present state was constructed in the year 1901-04 at a cost of Rs 11 lakhs under supervision of Maj H.F.

Although one is not allowed to enter the building, the compound is free of cost to visit. The area is well maintained and it offers age old British Architectural designs.

This is a heritage building built by britishers. At present this building is the office of the ACCOUNTANTS GENERAL. In Shimla this is the center of attraction among visitors. Every day hundreds of visitors come here.

History of Gorton Castle in Shimla Gorton Castle was constructed in the year 1904. The building was designed by one of the best British architects of that time, Sir Swinton Jacob. The architecture of this castle was inspired by the Neo-Gothic style. Sir Swinton Jacob was working as a consulting engineer in Jaipur. This well known architect and engineer of the colonial India earned fame for his masterpiece architectures that had the blending of Islamic, Hindu and western traditions”. Many important buildings of colonial India such as Albert Hall (Jaipur), Lalgarh Palace (Bikaner), St. Stephen’s College (Delhi) etc. were designed by him. When there was need of a Government Secretariat in their summer capital, Shimla, Swinton Jacob was given the responsibility by Lord Curzon. The design was liked a lot by Lord Curzon. The design of the castle complemented its high location and wonderful surroundings. The land on which the castle was built was originally the place donated for building a hospital. The castle was named as Gorton Castle after the name of the original owner of this site, Mr. Gorton, an ICS. The land changed hands thrice and was then purchased by Sir James Walker, a banker, on payment of Rs. 80,000. When the site was taken for building Government Secretariat, he was given another land for hospital construction. The land was acquired by the government for its officials after persuading Sir Walker a lot. Architecture of Gorton Castle Situated on the top of the hill, Gorton Castle is built over an area that has dimension of 400 ftx100 ft. The castle has three stories and houses 125 rooms of various sizes. The castle is surrounded by timber blocks mostly of Rosewood. The blocks were bought from Andaman under the supervision of Mr. B. Ribbertrop, Forest Department Head. For constructing the building, grey stones from Sanjauli, Himachal Pradesh, were used. The roofs of the castle were made with red tiles. Later on the red tiles got replaced with red iron sheets (galvanized). The main entrance of the castle resembled like a chalet and there was a large portico having a wonderful fresco. The side of the castle had bay windows. High towers surmounted the stone walls of the castle. The red iron roof of the castle gave it a look of fairy-tale castles. The castle was mounted on a hilltop surrounded by huge Deodar Trees and it could be seen from very far off. The balconies of Gorton Castle were decorated with innovatively designed net (jari) work of Rajasthan which still grabs the eyes of the onlookers. Many departments of the British India e.g. Health, Education, Finance, Home etc., were run from here. Location of Gorton Castle Gorton Castle can be easily reached because it is located at the center of the city, the Mall Road. From any part of the Shimla Town, this castle can be easily reached. How to Reach Gorton Castle For reaching the Gorton Castle, travelers have to use the Cart Road from the Railway Station. They can walk down to the Mall through this road and on the way they will find Gorton Castle. One has to drive only 500 m to reach the castle. Travelers would enjoy walking down to this castle. Those who are coming to visit the castle from outside Shimla can actually get into private or public buses that run on frequent basis. Taxis/cabs can also be hired to reach here.

This is a heritage building build by Britishers in 19 th century. It is currently getting renovated..It is now an office of Accountant General of Himachal Pradesh .