About

St. Augustine Tower, Old Goa This forty six meters high colossal four storied arched belfry tower built of laterite, formed part of the facade of the church of St. Augustine facing east. The ruins of eight chapels, four altars and extensive convent with numerous cells may be seen. This tower and church was build in 1602 by the St. Augustinian Friars. The Friars of Augustinian Order arrived in goa in 1572 and built a small convent on the holy hill and later it was enlarged. The convent building has three stories provided with two large stone staircases leading to the floors above. On entering the convent there were two cloisters, corridors, pillars, Galleries, Halls having numerous rooms, A refectory (dining hall), Guesthouse and Infirmary ( First Aid) which were very spacious. It also had vast dormitories and numerous cells and other structures which are now in ruins.

In 1835 this complex was abandoned due to the expulsion of the religious orders from Goa and the Portuguese Government ordered its demolition. In 1846 the main vault of the Church collapsed and the convent rapidly decayed. The valuable articles belonging to the religious complex were either sold or lost, being nowadays dispersed over many churches in Goa. The bell from the tower was initially taken to Fort Aguada and later in 1871 was shifted to the Church of Our lady of Immaculate Conception church in Panjim.

The church had a sprawling vault(roof) which collapsed between 1842 and 1846. It is said that the vault collapsed twice during construction and on the third attempt the architect to test its stability ordered a heavy cannon to be fired at the building with his only son standing inside. Fortunately, the vault withstood the shock to be brought down due to the ravages of time. As per the records, the convent and the church dedicated to Our lady of Grace was occupied by the Augustinian order till 1835. it was then abandoned as a result of an official decree and the Portuguese Government ordered its demolition.

As a result of partial demolition, weathering, and natural decay, the facade of the church including the 46 meters tall tower again fell in 1938. What remains of the five-story-tall tower is being conserved against all odds. The archaeological survey of India has been carrying out scientific clearance of the ruins since 1998 and simultaneous conservation of the site.

Timings