1857 Memorial Museum

1857 Memorial Museum at Lucknow has been established in the annexe of the Residency building which was earlier used for displaying a model of the Residency Complex. The ruins of the building reminds us of the great uprising of 1875 in Lucknow and are preserved in the same condition in which they came under central protection in the year 1920.

The museum, designed to present a visual accounts of the freedom struggle of 1857, have a collection of five hundred eleven (511) objects which includes a model of the Residency, old photographs, lithographs, paintings, documents, period objects such as guns, swords, shields, musketing cannons, rank badges, medals and other items. Diorama and paintings on canvas showing some of the battle at the Residency and other relating to the theme also form part of the display.

The exhibits present the story of 1857 in a chronological order. Original photographs and lithographs of many sites, connected with the uprising, and paintings depicting significant events of the uprising have been displayed along with portraits of local heroes. A number of maps showing strategic positions in Lucknow, the center of the uprising of 1857, map of the Residency and a drawing of the layout of the gallery have also been displayed.

Recently a new gallery has been added to the basement of the museum which houses the artifacts recovered during the excavation in the southern portion of the Residency complex. These include various terracotta human and animal figurines, a loaded revolver, porcelain wares, cannon balls, terracotta roof tiles, fragments of wine bottles, and silver plated whisk fly, etc.