Built in 1803, it was known as Government House during the Company rule in India and the British Raj.

With the shifting of the Indian capital from then Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, it became the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal.

[3] In 1799, the 1st Marquess Wellesley, the then Governor-General, who is reputed to have said that "India should be governed from a palace, not from a country house", began the construction of a grand mansion.

[5] Lord Wellesley was accused of misusing the East India Company's funds and was finally recalled back to England in 1805.

The state rooms located in the central core are accessed from the outside by a flight of grand steps on the north.

The plan of the wings allows for a great deal of natural ventilation in the spaces while also permitting views across the gardens.

The main entrance, formed by six ionic pillars supporting a pediment, is approached by a long walk past a decorated Chinese cannon presented by Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough.

An inscription on a marble plaque reads "The peace dictated to the Emperor of China under the walls of Nanking by the military force of England and of India".

[12] The three-storeyed Raj Bhavan building has a huge central area consisting of large halls having curved corridors on all four sides radiating to detached wings, each constituting a house in itself.

The Prince of Wales Suite in the north-west wing of the first floor hosts the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister of India and heads of state of other nations when they visit the state of West Bengal.