Delhi Heritage Trail. : 37

       Old Magazine Gate, Lothian Road

      This is the surviving gate of Delhi Magazine used for storing arms and ammunition which in the early days of Indian Mutiny of 1857 was defended  by Lieutenant George Willoughby of the Bengal Artillery and his band of eight British soldiers and civilians. On 11th May 1857 when hundreds of Mutineers from Meerut crossed the Yamuna river and demanded the surrender of the Magazine along with its arms and ammunition Lieutenant George and his assistants barricaded the outer gate of the magazine and resisted the demands of mutineers.

        The mutineers used scaling ladders to assault the gate of the magazine the Lieutenant used grapeshot from his cannons effectively and defended it for almost four hours.  However faced with inevitable defeat because of the large no of mutineers attacking Lt. Willoughby gave orders to his assistant Scully to blow the Magazine depot.  Instantly the Magazine was blown up and the sound which shook Delhi City and heard up to Meerut Town killed hundreds of mutineers who were buried under the ruins or blown in to air.

         Scully was killed in the blast but some of the Britishers survived with their uniforms almost blown off their bodies and found their way to British lines. The tablet at the top commemorates the British deeds. The gate is a mute testimony to the happenings of Indian mutiny  163 years ago.