Built in 1858 for Indore's Protestant congregation, this church takes its name from the marble and milk-white stone it was raised in.
Cities with a colonial past tend to keep their history in their churches, and Indore is no exception. The White Church was built in 1858 as a place of worship for Protestants living in the city, and it remains one of the clearest surviving pieces of the European presence here.
The building follows European conventions of its period. It is called the White Church because of the marble and milk-white stones used in its construction, and the pale masonry is set off by a red tiled roof. Large windows light the interior, and turrets break the roofline. It sits in the same city that produced the Holkar palaces and the glass Jain temple, and the contrast in intent between those buildings and this one is part of what makes it interesting.
Marble and milk-white stone give the church both its colour and its name. Walk the full exterior rather than viewing it only from the road, because the stonework is uniform and the massing is easier to read from the side.
A red tiled roof caps the pale walls, and turrets break the outline. These are the details that mark it as a mid-nineteenth century European building rather than anything local.
The large windows are the main source of light inside, and the interior is plain by the standards of Indore's other religious buildings. As a working church, access depends on service times.
This is an active church, so a visit has to fit around worship. The exterior can be seen at any reasonable hour.
October to March for comfort, and morning for the light, which falls well on the white stone and the red roof. Christmas is the most atmospheric time to see the church in use, though it is also the busiest.
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