Dilkusha Kothi is the remains of an eighteenth-century house built in the English baroque style in the quiet Dilkusha area of Lucknow in India. Today there are only a few towers and external walls as a monument, though the extensive gardens remain.
The house was constructed around 1800 by the British resident Major Gore Ouseley, a friend of the ruler of Oudh, Nawab Saadat Ali Khan. It was initially intended as a hunting lodge for the nawabs of Oudh although it was later used as a summer resort too. Changes were made to its design by Nawab, King Nasir-ud-Din Haider (1827-1837). The building had patterned walls and unusually no inner courtyard as was traditional in Indian architecture.
Today the gardens are visited by few people. It has been surmised that the reason may be the lack of publicity. There are a greater number of visitors during the winter when foreign tourists make up the normal visitors of families picnicing, school children and young couples. The Archaeological Society of India has done work to prevent further decay, carrying out gardening and small repairs. The site is considered to be deserving of further publicity by the ASI, subject to funding. It is claimed that “Dilkusha Kothi is probably one of the most beautiful monuments in the historic city of Lucknow.”
