A tour inside is an enchanting experience with each corner having its own unique story to tell.

Even though the church committee has done an efficient job in the upkeep of the building, with each passing year, the task is proving to be an uphill one. The structure, which till has now withstood the ravages of time, could do with a thorough renovation but shortage of funds stand in the way.

The history
Official records suggest the parish church was built in 1849. But the St Thomas’ School was set up in 1789. According to the church committee, the “free school” was operating on the present Mirza Ghalib Street (the street was also named Free School Street after the school).
The present location of the St Thomas’ School earlier housed a military orphanage. Then the free school was shifted to its present location and merged with the military orphanage. But there is no record of when that happened.
“We have reason to believe that, as was the custom those days, a chapel must have been associated with the orphanage. Most likely, it was located where the church now stands. So, that means that the history of the church dates back to before the official records,” said Reverend Sourendra Kumar Sarkar.

A walk inside
St Stephen’s is perhaps the only church in the city that has two small rooms, besides the altar, located diametrically opposite to each other.
Each room has a window overlooking the altar. “In those days, the Anglican nuns did not interact with the church gathering. They would be given the holy communion by the priest through these windows,” explained Reverend Sarkar.
A narrow flight of stairs will lead to the roof. The climb is tedious but worth it. One look at the 200-year-old bell (it still rings) and a fantastic view out of the rickety windows that overlook the church makes you heady. The church is one of the few in the city that had an elaborate pipe organ. But the tradition stopped in 1982 with the soaring electricity bills. Since then, the elaborate instrument has been lying defunct.

Plaques
Lovingly put up by dear ones, each of the 20-odd plaques adorning the church walls is a fascinating narrative in itself. Interestingly, perhaps owing to the church’s vicinity to the port, most of these plaques are dedicated to victims of shipwrecks who lost their lives at sea.
For instance, a plaque is dedicated to the memory of one James H Johnson who died in 1851.
He conducted to Calcutta the first steam ship — The Enterprise — in 1825. The words “plaque by Spence and Son, Liverpool” is engraved in the right-hand corner of the frame.
Another is dedicated to the memory of Edgar Belhouse, third officer of the ship ‘Khyber’ which sank in the Calcutta River on May 11, 1890.
Belhouse was all of 21 years.