Stephen Lushington Stephen Lushington Governor of Madras and Canterbury MP
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Stephen Lushington Stephen Lushington Governor of Madras and Canterbury MP Stephen Rumbold Lushington (1776-1868) was both a local Member of Parliament and a Governor of Madras, occasionally at the same time. Through his time in India he amassed an important collection of South Indian arms and armour, as well as a large number of animal and bird skins. Biography Early years Born at Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, Lushington was educated at Rugby School and the Linton Academy. He worked in Madras, India, from 1791- 1803, first for the East India Company then the government. His speciality was Persian translation. During 1795- 99 he was private secretary to Major- General George Harris, commander of the Madras army, and in 1797 married Harris’s eldest daughter, Anne. Harris led an attack on the forces of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, in 1799, at which Seringapatam was captured and Tipu killed. It was probably through Stephen Rumbold Lushington, MP, 1835, Lithograph by M O’Connor Harris that Lushington acquired some (active as an artist 1830s) of his high-quality collection of Indian He was appointed Governor of Madras arms and armour. in 1827 but returned to England at the end of his five-year term in 1832. MP and Governor of Madras Having lost his parliamentary seat in 1830 due to absence, he regained it Harris bought Lushington an estate in 1835, but retired when reform was at Norton, near Faversham, in Harris’s introduced in 1837. home county of Kent. Lushington While Governor of Madras moved there in 1803. Four years later Lushington laid the foundation stone Harris bought him the parliamentary for St Stephen’s Church, on the Mysore seat for Rye. In 1812 Lushington road, and buildings there named after became Member of Parliament for him include Lushington School. Canterbury, holding the seat until 1830. Stephen Lushington Jane Austen’s opinion much shorter man…” (Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, Jane Austen met Lushington when 15 October 1813) he visited her niece, Fanny Knight, “Mr Lushington sang. He has a lovely who lived at nearby Godmersham. He voice, and is quite delightful.” (Note in provided a frank for delivery of one of pocket book of Fanny Knight) Austen’s letters. One of Lushington’s eight children, “I like him very much. I am sure he Mary Ann, married James Wildman is clever, and a man of taste. He got a of Chilham Castle, who had formerly volume of Milton last night, and spoke courted Fanny Knight. of it with warmth. He is quite an M.P., . very smiling, with an exceeding good References address and readiness of language. Katherine Prior, ‘Lushington, Stephen Rumbold (1776- I am rather in love with him. I dare 1868)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition, January say he is ambitious and insincere. He 2006 puts me in mind of Mr Dundas. He Annual Reports of the Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution 1827-1832, accessed online at www.archive.org has a wide smiling mouth, and very Jane Austen Letters, Brabourne Edition, online text at good teeth, and something of the http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/brablets.html same complexion and nose. He is a Items on display ‘Firangi’ sword 18th century; South India Steel Indian long sword of the type known as a Firangi (from ‘Frank’, meaning ‘foreigner’) because such swords originally incorporated European or other foreign blades, or ones made locally in European style. It has a basket-type hilt (sword-handle) with a hand-guard above the crossbar. The grip (hand-hold) ends in a pommel of round discs. A spike extends from the pommel, enabling the sword to be used two-handed, but also providing a second, close-combat weapon. Hilts like this with a spike are known as Khanda style. It is decorated with gold inlay and turquoises; there are also inscriptions in Persian and Hindi. From the 16th century onwards Mughal rule in India meant that Persian culture and crafts were adopted. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference 1464 Stephen Lushington Sabre with ‘Yatagan’-style blade 18th century; South India Steel with brass hilt This curved sword was used by Nair warriors from Travancore. It has a single-edged blade re-curving towards the end known as Yatagan-style. The hilt (handle) extensions onto the blade are decorated with lotus scrolls. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference (WG 312) ‘Yatagan’ sword within scabbard 18th century; South India Steel, wood and silver Yatagan short sabres are Ottoman Turkish in origin. They have a slightly re-curved blade and no guard on the hilt (handle). Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference 1510 ‘Adya Katti’ knife 18th century; Coorg, South India Steel and horn This type of knife with heavy single-edged blade and no guard was used in Coorg, on the Western Ghat mountains, and Malabar, between the Western Ghats and Arabian Sea. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference (nn) Stephen Lushington ‘Tabar’ battle axe Early 18th century; Madurai, South India Steel This weapon used mainly by horsemen is decorated with bird motifs. Two concealed knives emerge from the hammer head of the axe. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference 1270 ‘Pata’ gauntlet sword 17th century; Tanjore or Mysore, South India Steel and brass The Pata, or gauntlet sword, was used by Maratha warriors during their long but eventually successful war against the Persian Mughal empire (1681-1707). Maratha warriors were trained to fi ght with two patas, one in each hand, or with a single pata in one hand and an axe or spear in the other. The snug-fi tting steel gauntlet covers the fi ghter’s hand, wrist and part of their forearm. Inside the gauntlet is a metal crossbar, gripped by the fi st. The sword becomes effectively an extension of the arm, for slash and thrust with a double-edged blade. The steel arm-guard here is formed in the shape of an elephant being devoured by a Makara (demon). This ornate weapon may have been a royal sword. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference WG 80 South Indian birds 1830; Neelgherry Mountains, South India At fi rst glance these look like British birds: partridges, cuckoo, woodpecker, pigeon and dove, all familiar in our cities and countryside. But the birds come from southern India. The Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution reported in 1830 the gift from ‘Stephen Lushington of many birds from a mountainous region in Madras at an elevation of between eight and nine thousand feet from the level of the Sea’. Many were very similar to birds found in Britain and showed that high altitude in a warm Stephen Lushington southern climate provides similar conditions to lower altitude in a cooler northern climate. Among the birds were the sparrow hawk, henharrier, hoopoe and woodcock. The cases of birds in the museum of Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution were ‘so peculiarly attractive to visitors’, according to the Institution’s annual report, that ‘the Curators … felt themselves bound to increase the Collection of Birds by every means in their power.’ In this original case are seven woodpeckers, two Indian ring- necked parakeets, a plum-headed and a Malabar parakeet, two nightjars (birds that hunt at night, with pointed wings and long tails), a needle-tailed swift (the fastest bird in fl apping fl ight), a hoopoe (with distinctive crown of feathers), three partridges, fi ve cuckoos, four different plovers, various quail, a necklace dove and Indian green-winged dove, a black-winged stilt (long-legged wader), two pigeons, and various other birds. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1830, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference 1999.173 Spears and sheaths 18th century; South India Gilded steel These battle or ceremonial spears are made in two sections that screw together; one is displayed in two parts, unscrewed. The shafts are richly decorated and show elaborate workmanship; some of the gilding has worn away with use. The spearheads are also engraved with scrolling foliage and gilded. Each spearhead has a velvet-covered wooden sheath, decorated with gilded mounts. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference 4775, 4776 Stephen Lushington ‘Kukri’ knives 18th to 19th century; Nepal, North India Steel Short knives used by the Gurkhas of Nepal are called Kukri. They have an inward-curved cutting edge and are used as both weapons and tools, like a machete. One has a dog-head handle, the other a dragon-head. Presented by Stephen Lushington to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1825-68, and acquired through purchase of the Museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47 Canterbury Museums and Galleries reference WG 498 and WG 499 ‘Tabar’ battle axe 18th to 19th century; South India Steel A weapons are for close combat, with crescent-shaped blade and pick.