Col. Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, who drew up the original plan for this building, was a well-known engineer and architect working in India. He was not a Simla man; he was the consulting engineer to Jaipur, where he had developed an irrigation system and also produced some fine work "in the Indo-Sarcanic style, which combined Hindu, Muslim and Western traditions" (Ellinwood 187), including the Lalghar Palace in Bikanir (1881) and the Albert Hall in Jaipur itself (opened as a museum in 1887). He was also responsible for the original red sandstone buildings of St Stephen's College at Kashmere Gate in Delhi (1891), and had the reputation of being "the best professional architect in India" (Lord Curzon's words, qtd. in Kanwar 308). So it was to him that Lord Curzon turned for a design for a new Government Secretariat in Simla. Swinton Jacob's plan was just to Curzon's liking, and ideally suited to the commanding, airy hilltop plot which had originally been donated to the government for a hospital. Although the plan had to be modified later by the Resident Engineer, Major Chesney, the prominent four-storey structure still looked much as both Swinton Jacob and Curzon had intended.
One of the most striking buildings of the British empire, Gorton Castle is a new-Gothic structure that had the famous Sir Swinton Jacob as its architect - the Rajasthan jaali work on its balconies obviously came from his forty five years of experience as the executive engineer of the princely state of Jaipur, completed in 1904, Gorton Castle now AG Office this was the Civil Secretariat of the Imperial Government of India and housed the Legislative, Lands, Education, Home Health and Finance departments. Today, this houses the offices of the Accountant General of Himachal Pradesh. This three floored building with about 125 small and big rooms became the seat of the Accountant General in 1947. This finest house in Shimla, according to Sir Edward Buck also has one floor paved with rosewood like timber blocks which were brought from Andaman Islands by B.Ribbentrop head of forest department. The site belonged to one Mr. Gorton, ICS in 1840. After changing hands thrice, it was purchased by a banker, Sir James Walker for Rs. 80,000. He wished to gift it for construction of Hospital After much discussion and persuasion the building was acquired for its officers and Sir Walker was given alternate site where Walker Hospital ( Now known as Military Hospital, Shimla ) was constructed.
Sources:
Ellinwood, Dewitt C. Between Two Worlds: A Rajput Officer in the Indian Army, 1905-21. Lanham, MD.: University Press of America, 2005.
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See Also: Major fire in Shimla's British-era building
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