Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/372

364 LUC “This immense building is covered with vaults of very simple form and still simpler construction, being of a rubble or coarse concrete several feet in thickness, which is laid on a rude mould or centering of bricks and mud, and allowed to stand a year or two to dry and set. The centering is then removed, and the vault, being in one piece, stands with- out abutment or thrust, apparently a better and more durable form of roof than our most scientific Gothic vaulting; certainly far cheaper and far more easily made, since it is literally cast on a mud form, which may be moulded into any shape the fancy of the architect may dictate." The following details of the foundation of the city, and of the various remarkable buildings in it are drawn from the settlement report from a local account of Lucknow, and other authorities. History. The earliest inhabitants seem to have been Brahmans and Kágaths, and they dwelt round the Lachhman Tila, or Lachhman's hill, which is now the high ground situated within the Machchhi Bhawan fort. Here, it is said, that Lachhman, brother of Rám Chandar, Rája of Ajodhya, who had been granted a large tract of country up to the Gogra in jágír, founded the village of Lachlmanpur, the origin of the future city. He was probably drawn to it by the reputed sanctity of the spot; for on the summit of the hillock was an orifice in the ground into which Hindus threw flowers and water, for they said it led down to the Sesnág, or thou-. sand headed snake, who supports the world on his head. A mosque now stands over the place, built by that stern religionist, the Emperor Aurang- zeb, who had just returned from performing a like act at some sacred spot in Ajodhya. The village of Lachhmanpur was standing within the memory of man. The next comers were the Shekhs, known in after times as the Shekh- zádas of Lucknow, and, later on, a colony of Pathans, who became known as the Patháns of Rámnagar. The latter claimed the zamindari up to the spot subsequently marked by the Gol Darwáza gate. To the east of this ruled the Shekhs, called the Ninbahra Shekhs from the nim trees that surrounded their muhallas. Their muhallas (quarters) extended up to the residency grounds, and covered all the land lying between that and the Machchhi Bhawan fort, but came under the demolitions ordered after the rebellion of 1857, and the land set free has since become cultivated and converted into rich market gardens, This family of Shekhs had obtained a good deal of influence in the country, and subsequently supplied more than one member to the list of Subahdars. One of their first proceedings was to build a fort, which soon became renowned for its strength. It occupied the site of the present Machchhi Bhawan fort, and is said to have been planned by an Ahír named Likhna, and to have been called after him the Qila Likhna. As the Shekhs prospered and increased, a small town grew up round them, which from the two names of Lachhmanpur and Likhna got the name of Lucknow. It is impossible to give the exact date of the imposition of this new name, but it certainly was current previous to the reign of Akbar. To give an example of the prosperity of this town, tlie Shekhs have