Colonel Bailey's Dungeon
Between 1761 and 1799 AD, Srirangapatna played an important role in shaping the political history of Karnataka in particular and that of south India in general. Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan, who ruled the Mysore kingdom, fought the British valiently in four Mysore battles and in the process, held captive many British army officers. Tipu Sultan held these prisoners of war within the fort at Srirangapatna. The Dungeon located to the north of the Ranganathaswamy temple is popularly known as Colonel Bailey's Dungeon and appears to have been used by Tipu Sultan to confine prisoners of war. It is an oblong structure concealed from view and measures about 30x15 m with low vaulted roof of brick and mortar and having a series of arches resting on huge pillars dividing the interior into bays. Along the walls are projecting stone slabs having holes, perhaps meant for fastening prisoners to the walls with chains. This dungeon is said to have been used to confine Col. Bailey for a short period.
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Daria Daulat Bagh
Srirangapatna, the abode of Sri Ranganatha has a chequered history. During the time of Hoysala ruler Udayaditya, brother of Vishnuvardhana, a small town flourished here. A fort was built here in 1454 AD by the local Nagamangala chief Timmana Dandanayaka during the Vijayanagara rule and it was directly ruled by Vijayanagara viceroys. Mysore Wodeyars took possession of this place during the reign of Raja Wodeyar, which ultimately became the capital of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan till it was captured by the British in 1799 AD. Built in 1784 AD, the summer palace of Tipu Sultan is in the Indo-Islamic style, constructed mostly of teak wood. It is situated outside the fort, on the bank of river Kaveri. It is rectangular in plan and stands on a raised platform. Open corridors run along its four sides with wooden pillars at the edges of the plinth. While the eastern and western wings have walls, the other two wings have recessed bays with pillars supporting the roof of the upper storey. There are four staircases for the upper storey. The most striking feature of the building is that the entire space on the walls and the roof, pillars, canopies and arches are painted artistically. The outer walls depict battle scenes and portraits and the interior walls are decorated with scrolls of thin foliage and floral pattern. The paintings on the western wall emphasise the glorious victory of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan over the English contingent led by Colonel Bailey in 1780. The eastern wall contains many portraits of contemporary rulers in five rows. Presently, the ground floor of the palace is utilized for Archaeological Site Museum amidst a garden maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.
Ancient Palace Site and remains
After the collapse of Vijayanagara empire in 1565 AD, the Mysore Wodeyar declared independence under Raja Wodeyar in 1610 AD and made Srirangapatna, the seat of their government. It ultimately became the capital of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan till and was captured by the British in 1799 AD. The ancient palace site and remains are located to the north east of Ranganathaswami temple. It was also called Lal Mahal. The raised mound with remains of a lime-pilastered brick plinth, represents the remains of Tipu's palace. Buchanan who visited Srirangapatna in 1800 AD has left a glowing account of the structure. In its heyday, the structure contained huge halls, rooms and apartments. Part of this structure is exposed, revealing a pillared room, a hall and portion of a flight of steps from the west. A considerable portion to the east is still buried.