'View from the Iron Bridge', 1858 (c)

Lithograph by E Walker from 'General Views and Special Points of Interest of the City of Lucknow', a series of 27 coloured lithographs by R M Bryson, E Walker, F Jones after Lieutenant-Colonel D S Dodgson, published by Day and Son, 1 September 1860.

This image depicts the view from the iron bridge looking up the river Gumti towards the Chattar Manzil (Umbrella) Palace and the Dil Aram, a palace behind which the mutineers positioned a large gun battery.

The bridge was built during the reign of Nawab Amjad Ali (1842-1847), although its iron structure had actually been imported from Britain many years earlier. The lack of engineering knowledge in Oudh state delayed construction and it was not until Amjad Ali approached the East India Company for help that the Bengal Engineers finally built it.