Farhat Baksh Kothi’s original name was “Martin Villa”. It was built in 1781 by Major General Claude Martin. It offers an amazing piece of Indo-French architecture. It is said that this used to be his residence. It was a two-story building, the lower part of which touched the river Gomti, due to which the lower part was submerged in water during the rainy season.
The Gomti shore was built to keep the air inside and cool the atmosphere inside. The upper floor had a large hall, where 4000 books were kept in English and French. Also, 500 handwritten copies were also compiled. Claude Martin was very fond of reading. His last wish was that he be buried at La Martiniere after his death. And the same thing happened.
It is believed that only in May 1781, when this building was about to be completed, it was attacked by Raja Chet Singh of Banaras and somehow it could be protected. After the war, Claude Martin built a large moat on all three sides and built a bridge over the fourth part which was connected to Gomti. This made the entrance inside. Claude Martin lived in this building until his last breath.
Claude Martin remained unmarried all his life, so after his death, there was no heir to this villa. So, bidding was conducted to sell the building, where a Spanish man, Joseph Queros, defeated the Nawab Saadat Ali Khan in the bid and won the auction. He bought it for 40 thousand rupees, back then.
After some time, the health of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan deteriorated and he came here to stay to change the air and environment. The warm and pleasant
atmosphere here quickly cured Nawab Saheb. After this, he put some pressure on Joseph Queros and bought this building from him and named it. It was Saadat Ali Khan who renamed the building as “Farhat Bakhsh Kothi” (Bestower of Happiness). It used to be the residence of all the Nawabs and kings of Awadh, from Nawab Saadat Ali Khan till before Wajid Ali Shah. Wajid Ali Shah chose the Kaiserbagh palace as his residence.
SOURCES:
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https://misfitwanderers.com/chattar-manzil-and-farhat-baksh-kothi/
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