BBD Bagh, Central Kolkata
St. John's Church
Kolkata's oldest church (1787), where Job Charnock — the man credited with founding the city — is buried. The churchyard holds more colonial-era history per square metre than anywhere outside a museum.
Best Time to Visit
Early morning before the area gets busy. The churchyard has trees that make good shade by mid-morning.
Nearest Landmark
GPO, BBD Bagh
How to Get There
Council House Street, BBD Bagh. Open daily, free entry. A 5-minute walk from the GPO.
Local Tip
"Look for the Last Supper painting inside — attributed to Johann Zoffany, who used real Calcutta residents as models for the apostles, including himself. The painting is genuine and remarkable. Job Charnock's mausoleum in the churchyard is built in the Mughal octagonal style — an unexpected architectural choice for a British official."
St. John’s Church was consecrated in 1787, making it the oldest surviving church in Kolkata. It was built to serve the needs of the growing British population of Calcutta and was modelled loosely on St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London.
The Zoffany painting
Inside the church hangs a large Last Supper attributed to Johann Zoffany, court painter to King George III and resident of Calcutta in the 1780s. Zoffany used actual Calcutta residents as models for the figures — recognisable portraits of merchants, officials, and (controversially) two local women as the apostles. The painting is a historical document as much as a religious image.
The churchyard
Job Charnock, traditionally identified as the founder of Calcutta (though this is contested by historians), is buried here in a mausoleum that combines classical European form with a Mughal octagonal plan — a hybrid structure that says something interesting about early colonial identity.