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About St. Thomas Cathedral :

The island of Bombay which was a Portuguese possession became a part of the dowry of the Portuguese princess Infanta Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II of England under the Anglo Portuguese treaty of June 1661. In 1668 King Charles transferred it to the East India Company for a loan of pounds Sterling 50,000 at 6% interest and with a rental of pounds Sterling 10 per annum! At that time the main center of the East India Company in Western India was Surat. The President of the Company in Surat assumed the additional role of Governor of Bombay from 1668. Gerald Angier, who was the Governor from 1669, took the initiative to build a Church for the English community. The foundation stone for the Church was laid in 1676 at the present site of the St. Thomas' Cathedral. But construction was suspended for almost 40 years due to several setbacks such as shortage of finance, revolt against the Company in 1683, the siege of Bombay by Sidi Yakub in 1689, a plague epidemic from 1686-96, etc.

History of St. Thomas Cathedral

St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai, completed in 1718, is the first Anglican church in Mumbai (then called Bombay), to improve the "moral standards" of the growing British settlement. It is located on Veer Nariman Road, close to Horniman Circle Gardens and the Flora Fountain. The name of nearby Churchgate station has reference to this church. One of the gates in the Fort which the East India Company had built to protect their settlement was the entrance to the St. Thomas Church. It was called Churchgate. That is why the whole area towards the West of the Church is called “Churchgate” even today. The street leading to the Church was originally called Churchgate Street and has been more recently renamed (like many streets in Bombay) and is now known as Veer Nariman Road. The island of Bombay which was a Portuguese possession became a part of the dowry of the Portuguese princess Infanta Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II of England under the Anglo Portuguese treaty of June 1661. In 1668 King Charles transferred it to the East India Company for a loan of pounds Sterling 50,000 at 6% interest and with a rental of pounds Sterling 10 per annum!

Getting to St. Thomas Cathedral