Brooklands Christian Guest Home

Brooklands Christian Guest Home is situated in Coonoor at an altitude of 1850 metres above sea level in The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, South India. It is a full-board residential guest home operated by a Protestant trust mainly to provide a place of rest and relaxation to Evangelical Protestant missionaries on the field.

The property is situated in green tea fields in spectacular scenery and enjoys year round temperate climate. It is the last remaining Guest Home of the Nilgiri Christian Guest Homes Association

History

Main Building North Elevation, c.1938

The main building is a striking example of early colonial architecture. It is known to have been built in the late 1800s and has been rumoured that it was intended for a potential royal visit. This is reflected in the turrets and tower on the north face of the building.

Willam Lee was a rich English gentleman from Leeds. He moved to France and bought the stately chateau de La Ferté-Imbault in 1824. This was an enormous estate with a spectacular Renaissance chateau, in the Sologne region, which had belonged to the French aristocratic family of Estampes for four centuries, up to the French Revolution. William Lee's heirs, the Kirby family, sold the chateau in 1873 and moved to a smaller estate called Les Jumeaux, still located in the village of La Ferté-Imbault. Three of William Lee's grandsons, William Lee Kirby, Robert William Kirby, and John Farrer Kirby (born at La Ferté-Imbault) moved to Coonoor, in the 1870s where they purchased land and built the Brooklands tea plantation. Their selection of tea was successful and obtained awards at the 1880 Sydney exhibition and 1881 Melbourne exhibition. It is possible that the turrets and tower built at Brooklands reminded them of their French chateau. John Farrer Kirby died in Coonoor on March 24th, 1875, only age 20. Willam Lee Kirby died on May 4th, 1895 at Brooklands plantation. In The Times of India, dated 9 May 1895, an article mentioned his death and that "Mr Lee Kirby was a very successful planter on the Nilgiris and owned Brooklands".

The property was purchased prior to 1898^[1] by the Brethren Mission with money assigned to them from the Arthington Fund. This fund was specifically for the propagation of education for children from mission fields.

Today(2016) Brooklands Christian Guest Home continues to provide a retreat for vacationists in the surrounds of tea plantations with wildlife. It is close to many sightseeing attractions such as Sims Park, Lambs Rock, Tiger Hill.

References

1)Laurent Leroy, Itinéraire d'une famille anglaise en Sologne. 2) The Times of India. May 9th, 1895.