St Stephen’s began with five students in a Chandni Chowk haveli

Five students and three teachers made up St Stephen’s College when it opened in 1881 inside Sheesh Mahal, a haveli at Katra Khushal Rai in Chandni Chowk.

The college’s first home was an 18th-century Mughal-era building associated with Ashraf Beg, described as a favourite wazir of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. Before the college began there, the haveli had housed St Stephen’s School from 1841.

Founded by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi, St Stephen’s was initially attached to Punjab University.

The move from Chandni Chowk

In 1891, the college moved to a building near St James’ Church at Kashmiri Gate. It remained there for decades as the institution expanded.

After the University of Delhi was established in 1922, St Stephen’s became part of the university. The college later shifted to its present North Campus site.

The first address remains

Sheesh Mahal remains in the lanes of Chandni Chowk, connected with the institution’s founding years even as much of its original character was lost over time.

Restoration plans drawn up in the 2000s aimed to preserve the haveli as part of Chandni Chowk’s older architectural landscape and as the site where the college began.