The Durbar Room was constructed in 1890-91 to provide a state banqueting hall for Queen Victoria. Designed and built by a Sikh, Bhai Ram Singh the room is an excellent example of the Sikh decorative techniques that Bhai Ram Singh was an expert in. The awe inspiring Indian design is matched by the display of the exquisite collection of gifts given to Queen Victoria by the Indian people.

The ceiling is composed of fibrous plaster taken from moulds produced under the supervision of Ram Singh. The walls are enriched with plaster and carton Pierre - a type of papier mache common in the late nineteenth Century. Every surface is richly embellished from the ceiling to the white walls. The decoration includes the Indian symbols of Ganesha - the Hindu elephant God of good fortune and a peacock over the chimney-piece. Twenty-six craftsmen worked on the chimney-piece and overmantel. Over 500 hours were spent on producing the peacock alone, which was equivalent to one man working solidly for ten weeks.

The name ‘Durbar’ is derived from the Indian word meaning both a state reception and the hall within such gatherings were held. The name is appropriate in terms of both the function of the room and its Indian style of architecture, which was popular for a brief period of time towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Alongside the Durbar Room can be found the Durbar Corridor. On the walls hang three small paintings of Maharajah Duleep Singh, his wife Maharanee Bamba and their son, Victor Albert, named in honour of the royal couple, Queen Victoria & Prince Albert. The corridor also contains an extensive collection of portraits of Indian dignitaries, soldiers, craftsmen and some of the servants who attended Queen Victoria in the 1880’s and 1890’s.

Image©English Heritage Photo Library