The British image of nawabi Lucknow was one of chaos, hostility and anarchy. From that the city changed into one of battlefield. The mutiny and the story of 140-day-long siege of the city are well documented. The residency that housed 6938 Europeans was in the thick of the city. And they could not fight the seize surrounded by the native city with its crooked streets and closely built houses.
 
During this period the women and children died of disease. Their encounters with disease, dirt, and death were etched on the minds of the survivors and were commemorated in the attempts at city planning.