Chattar Manzil

Chattar Manzil, the umbrella palace, stands on the bank of the Gomti in Lucknow. Begun on the orders of Nawab Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar and finished by his successor Nasir-ud-Din Haidar, it housed the rulers of Awadh and their wives. There were once two buildings, the Bari and the Chhoti Chattar Manzil, but only the larger survives. Both were built in a blend of European and Nawabi styles, named for the chhatris on their octagonal pavilions; the surviving building has big rooms below ground and a dome capped by a gilded umbrella.

During the uprising of 1857 it was a stronghold of the rebels, and the British destroyed part of it. Afterwards it became the United Services Club until 1947, and from the 1950s it housed the Central Drug Research Institute, which has since moved out. The state government plans to open museums and a library here after conservation. Early photographers such as Felice Beato and Samuel Bourne recorded the building.