Home Coming of RCTC : 11 Russell Street

The main office of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club is somewhat sequestered from the public eye. It remains, nevertheless, one of the more remarkable architectural structures of the cit, in an age when, one after the other, the old landmarks are giving way to unseemly highrise buildings.

The present generation of race goers are under the impression that the main office of R.C.T.C. has been all along at 11 Russell Street. It isn't so.

The earliest mention we have of some kind of office premises for the then Calcutta Turf Club is in 1888. The source of information is, of course, that `bible' of R.C.T.C. - W.G.C. Frith's account of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club.

It was at about this time the Club acquired premises for an office and some sort of Club facilities. Since the Building of the new Stand in 1880, Meetings, Lotteries, Stewards Meetings, etc., all seem to have been held in the old stand near the Jail. Somewhere about 1889/90, however, they acquired some accommodation at 29 Chowringhee Stores. An Election Meeting on March 2nd, 1889 is recorded as being at the "Turf Club Office". Curiously enough, there is no reference at all in the Minutes to its being bought or rented or to the extent of the accommodation. The only item of reference is the passing on August 16th, 1890, of an estimate "for furnishing the Club room".

In May 1891, however, the premises were acquired by Government and the Club had to turn out at short notice. A Minute starting this goes on to say that the Secretary was instructed to negotiate a lease for 33 Theater Road. Here again, there is no clue from the Minutes as to the terms or accommodation, other than a reference to the top floor being sublet at Rs. 150/- per month. It is known that the Club was at 33 Theater Road in April 1893 as a printed notice in connection with the Annual General Meeting went out from the address and a copy is in the Minute Book. In 1906, Theatre Road was renumbered and 33 become 49. Here they were to remain until February 27th, 1920, when they moved to the present Club and Offices which had been bought a few years after Sir A. Apcar's death. The old gates with the C.T.C. crest on them, were still standing at 49 Theatre Road in 1947 but have now all been swept away in the rebuilding operations in that area.

In the middle of 1919 the Club began negotiations to acquire the present Club and Office at 11 Russell Street. Since Sir Apcar's death six years previously, the property had been acquired by J.C. Galstaun and it was with him that negotiations took place. His asking price was a high one of Rs. 4¹/₂ Lakhs but he was agreeable to take the Club's premises at 49 Theatre Road in part payment. Eventually the deal went through at Rs. 1³/₄ Lakhs. Early possession of the property was obtained so that the necessary alterations could be made before 49 Theatre Road was surrendered. This went smoothly and the office moved at the end of January 1920 and the Club a week later. Meanwhile 9 Russell Street was bought in January, 1920 and 5 Middleton Row two months later for Rs. 2,30,000/- each. Negotiations for 6 Middleton Row were more protracted but it was eventually acquired a year later for Rs. 2,50,000/-. The last property to be acquired was 10 Russell Street. Possession was obtained with some difficulty. The middle flat was occupied by an elderly Anglo-Indian lady who refused to understand that the house had been sold and that she had been given notice to move. The late Mr. N. B. Ganguli, the Club's contractor, used to speak with feeling of his arrival to begin alterations to the property and being met at the top of the stairs by the old lady, armed with a double barreled shot gun. Later, the walls bounding the properties were pulled down and the whole turned into one big compound with two entrances, one on to Russell Street and one to Middleton Row. The hand of Arthur Fawcett is clearly discernible in all these negotiations and in the lay out, decoration and equipment of the Club premises. His attention to detail and his infinite capacity for taking trouble were remarkable and were to be in evidence again a few years later in the setting up of the London Office and the purchase, equipment and administration of Oakfield Club.

While on the Subject of property, the Club once owned 13 Russell Street, which was used for a Jockeys and Trainers Club but it was never a great success and the building was sold in 1918.