In pursuance of Government Educational Policy a preliminary enquiry was made at Berhampore by one of the Judges of the late Sadar Dewani Adalat to ascertain if there was a need of establishing a college at Berhampore and for finding out whether an adequate number of boys would take their admission and whether the guardians of the boys were interested in having a college here (at Berhampore). After that a college was founded in November, 1853 A.D. and it was named "Berhampore College".

It was started first in the building now known as the Main Hostel of the Krishnath College. Mr. Harrison was the Principal, who subsequently became the Principal of the Muir College, Allahabad. Mr Alfred Smith was the Headmaster, who after officiating for some time as Pincipal went to Krishnagar as Principal of that college. There was no professor then; the teachers were Mr. Fox, Mr. Guyson, Mr. Kuvaites, Mr. Gravet, Babu Haridas Ghose (বাবু হরিদাস ঘোষ), Babu Nilmani Ganguly (বাবু নীলমনি গাঙ্গুলী) and others. The last teacher was Madhu Babu better known as Madhu Master (মধু মাষ্টার).

A little after the Sonthal insurrection in 1856 the College was removed to a two-storied house (present Krishnath College School premises), which belonged to Mr. Verdon Monasagon (popularly known as Manachapkan) of Sujapore Factory, the father-in-law of magistrate Mr. James Chapman Anderson, I.C.S. This house stood on the site of the present school premises; Chapkan's building being demolished at the time of the Sepoy Mutiny the present Jail which was then the European Hospital was converted temporarily into a Fort and the College moved to Banjetia Garden House (which was later named as Old Library of Murshidabad Institute of Technology or MIT College). After that it was removed to Gorabazar, Old Civil Court, known lately as Old Circuit House, and now as Kumar Hostel (কুমার হোস্টেল). From the Circuit House the College was again removed, and the classes were accommodated in two different buildings, one the present police Constables Training-School, where the upper classes were held. The other remaining classes were held in a small building (the residential quarter of Mr. S. W. Bradbury, the Head Master) which was then situated on the south-east corner of Laldighi lake.

From these two buildings the College was again removed to the building situated in the Civil Court Compound belonging to one Mr. Purvis, Nazir (Cashier) of the then Agent's office, later occupied by Rev. Dr. Otto Stursberg. Mr. S. W. Bradbury died while, the College was in this building. Mr. Richard L. Martin joined as Head Master and the College was removed to a thatched house built on the North of the Hajut Tank on the triangular plot of land, which is the present site of the Police Club building. While the College was there in the middle of 1860, Mr. R. L. Martin, the Head Master, left as Inspector of Schools, Chotonagpur. Mr. Robert Hand came here as Principal of the College. From here Babu Radha Krishna Sen, after passing the Senior Scholarship Examination from the Berhampore College, took up his Degrees in Law and Arts from the Presidency College and entered the Provincial Judicial Service and rose to the First grade.

Mr. Hand removed the College from here to the Barrack, which is now known as the Police Line, the building just to the west of the Main Hostel. The College was here from 1860 to the middle of the year 1869.
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The foundation of the present college building was laid by Sir Cecil Beadon the then Lieutenant Governor, on Wednesday, the 29^th July, 1863. The laying of the foundation stone was a grand affair. The British Artillery firing the Salute from the Koilaghat, the British Infantry as Guard of Honour took their stand on the west of the Compound by the river-side road. Elephants, Camels, Horsemen stood on the North and the new Bengal Police Constables on the South and East of the Compound and the Station Band was playing. By compound it is to be understood only the western portion of the present compound. The western portion of the land was only acquired, by paying Rs. 2,627 as compensation for the removal of the materials of the house and huts. No value for the land was paid, as it was Government Khas Mahal. The quantity of land of the western portion was only 11 Bighas 10 ⁵/₆ Kottah (4.585 Acres), but according to Khas Mahal Chittas it was 9 Bighas 19 Kottahs 10 Gandas and 3 Karas. The Eastern portion of the compound was subsequently resumed (not acquired).

The Resolution passed by the Local Committee of Public Instruction on 11^th July 1863, was "The ground at present made over for the building being wholly insufficient, the Secretary be desired to request the Collector to take steps for making over more lands". The Collector moved the higher authorities and finally on the 1^st September 1863 the Government by letter No. 5114 wrote to the Board thus : "With reference to orders No. 1197 of 19th April, 1856, the Lieutenant Governor authorises that the additional land required for the Berhampore College extending to the East up to the lane known as Kali Thakur Gully may be made over for that object. Of the amount of compensation fixed by the Collector at Rs. 7,526 His Honor sanctioned the payment of half, Rs. 3,763 from the fund of the Public Works; the remaining half will be defrayed from private subscriptions".

The clearance of the Eastern portion commenced from November, 1863. The building was completed in 1868 and the College was removed to this new building in June 1869 after the Summer Vacation. A law department was started in 1864, and the institution became a first grade Arts College in 1869. The erection of the building commenced under the supervision of the Executive Engineer Captain Vivian, Mr. Bolton, the Assistant Engineer and some Overseers. The nobles and the gentlemen of the District subscribed about Rs 60,000 towards the Building fund.
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Teachers of Berhampore College

The first Principal of the Institution was Mr. Harrison. Mr. Smith officiated for a short time. Then came Mr. Hand in 1860. Mr. Hand remained here as Principal till 1874. The College was then not in a good condition, although in Mr. Hand's time the College came to a flourishing state. First grade Senior and Junior Scholarships were gained by the boys. After him came Mr. Bellet; then Babu Prasanno Kumar Sarbadhikari (বাবু প্রসন্ন কুমার সর্বাধিকারি), and after him Mr. W. Livingstone. Mr. Livingstone was the last Principal of this College as a Government Institution, which it ceased to be from the year 1887.

The first Head Master was Mr. Alfred Smith, who was succeeded by Mr. S. W. Bradbury. After Mr. Bradbury's death came Mr. R. L. Martin After some months Mr. Martin left. Mr. David Carnduff, the father of the late Justice Sir W. Carnduff then came as Head Master. In the beginning of 1865 when the B.A. class (third year class) was opened for the first time, the Head Master Mr. Carnduff was made professor on a pay of Rs. 500 per month and Pundit Ramgati Nyayaratna (পন্ডিত রামগতি ন্যায়রত্ন) came here as the Sanskrit Professor on a pay of Rs. 150 per month. In the year 1865 the College had for the first time Professors. Before that there were no Professors here. Babu Mahendra Nath Mukherjee (বাবু মহেন্দ্র নাথ মুখার্জী) was in the 1^st year class in 1865. Sanskrit was made a compulsory second language for the F.A. examination in November 1866. Hence the students neglected Bengali from 1865, and began to learn Devnagri.
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After Mr. David Carnduff was made Professor, Babu Bireswar Mitra (বাবু বীরেশ্বর মিএ), M.A. came here as an officiating Head Master. He was one of the six students who for the first time passed the Calcutta University M.A. Examination in Mathematics. Babu Ramanath Nandy (বাবু রমানাথ নন্দী), Babu Nobin Krishna Mukherjee (বাবু নবীন কৃষ্ণ মুখার্জী) of Uttarpara, Babu Jogeswar Mukherjee (বাবু যোগেশ্বর মুখার্জী), Dy. Inspector of Schools were of those first six M.A.'s. Bireswar Babu was transferred in the beginning of 1866 as the permanent Head Master of Krishnagar College. After Bireswar Babu came one Mr. Goode from Dacca College. Mr. Goode's services were dispensed with by Government orders. In his place came Rev. Lalbehari Dey (লালবিহারী দে), the well-known English Scholar and writer as Head Master of Berhampore College. In the year 1873 when the College was simply shaking and was threatened with abolition the Rev. Lal Behari Dey went to Hoogly College as a Professor. In the beginning of 1866 Sir Rash Behari Ghose (রাসবিহারী ঘোষ) came as a Lecturer in English on a monthly pay of Rs. 200. He remained here for a few months only and left the place in July 1866 to prepare himself for the B.L. Examination. Babu Ramanath Nandy, M.A. came to the College as a Law Lecturer on a monthly salary of Rs. 200 as well as a Lecturer in Mathematics in the B.A. class on a monthly allowance of Rs. 100 more. He arrived in the latter end of 1864 and joined the Bar. He died here in April 1866 and in June when the College reopened after the Summer Vacation the venerable Sir Gurudas Banerjee (স্যার গুরুদাশ ব্যানার্জী) came in place of Ramanath Babu. Babu Beni Madhab Dey (বাবু বেণীমাধব দে) succeeded Sir Rash Behari Ghose. Babu Beni Madhab Dey remained here up to May 1868 as a lecturer in Mathematics and then in June, 1868 Mr. Maclaren Smith came direct from England as Professor of Mathematics and Beni Babu went away as Assistant Inspector of Schools, Burdwan Division. Mr. Smith remained here up to 1872 and was then taken over to the Presidency College. No other Professor succeeded him. Babu Haridas Ghose who was then the Head Master after Rev. Lal Behari Dey, used to do the Work. The B.A. Classes were then abolished. Mr. Camduff was also transferred somewhere else and no other Professor came in his place. Pundit Ramgati Nyayaratna was also transferred to Hoogly Normal School and Pundit Madhab Chandra Tarkasidhanta (পন্ডিত মাধব চন্দ্র তর্কসিদ্ধান্ত) came in his place. Babu Haridas Ghose also being transferred to Hoogly College, Babu Nilmani Ganguly was for sometime the Head Master and with him ceased the Government Institution.

Principals of the Berhampore College :

1. Mr. A. S. Harrison - 1853
2. Mr. Alfred Smith (Offg.) - 1856
3. Mr. R. L. Martin :: Head Master in charge - 1858 & 1859
4. Mr. S. W. Bradbury - 1859
5. Mr. Robert Hand - 1861
6. Mr, Bellet - 1875
7. Babu Prosonno Kumar Sarbadhikari (বাবু প্রসন্ন কুমার সর্বাধিকারি) - 1877 (Offg.)
8. Mr. W. Livingstone - 1880

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Krishnath College

Gallery

External References :

• A history of Murshidabad District (Bengal) (1902) - By John Henry Tull
• University of Calcutta The Calendar for the Year 1890
• Bengal District Gazetteers, Murshidabad - By Lewis Sydney Steward O'Malley (1914)
• Bengal and Assam, Behar and Orissa Their history, people, commerce and industrial resources - By Somerset Playne (1917)
• The golden book of India - By Sir Lethbridge, Roper 1840-1919
• The official site of Krishnath College : http://krishnathcollege.org