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In 1948 the Government of India at New Delhi handed over a large piece of property, measuring about three hundred acres and situated north of Calcutta, on the banks of the river Hooghly, to the State Government. In time the State Government handed it over to the West Bengal Police. The property included an imposing mansion built in the classical style with an elegant colonnaded portico, smaller bungalows scattered around as well as a large garden, styled like an English park with an enormous banyan tree on the southern side of the mansion. A raised walk along the river's embankment made for a pretty stroll down the river. The huge mansion was refitted hurriedly into a makeshift Police Hospital and slowly fell into disuse, while in time the park was scarred by ugly, modern buildings and the gardens began to grow weedy and derelict. Such was the fate of Government House, Barrackpore, conceived and begun by Lord Wellesley in 1801 and completed by the Marquess of Hastings in 1823. This was the weekend country retreat of the Governors General and later the viceroys from the start of the 19th century. The rise of Simla pushed it into obscurity but as private papers including letters, journals and reminiscences show, this was a vibrant weekend retreat for British administrators till the last years of British rule; thereafter it was slowly forgotten. This book documents the history of Government House and Barrackpore Park along with a photographic series of its present day restoration. It is hoped that such a documentation will validate the efforts of all those who in the past and the present have felt the beauty of old buildings as a justifiable and valuable part of world heritage. For historians, architects, conservationists and anyone who understands the need to look back in order to move forward, the following pages provide a compulsive read.