Bromley Estate

The ‘Residents of Simla, 1898’ list mentions three Goldsteins. A certain Robert von Goldstein and two Felix von Goldsteins. One of whom was a musician & bandmaster to the Viceroy while the other was an engineer, contractor, cabinetmaker and estate agent. According to local legend, Felix von Goldstein the estate agent was exiled from the Simla municipal limits (for fatally striking his servant in a fit of rage), and consequently moved to Barari village where through the Raja of Koti, he established his home, an orchard & a piggery, calling it the Bromley Estate.nAs per Simla Municipal Committee records, the estate agent Felix von Goldstein purchased the land from a local landlord Ram Dayal and received govt sanction to begin construction on Nov 23, 1912. Three cottages and outhouses (built in a combination of dhajji and timber paneled construction) were completed by 1913 and the von Goldstein family moved into their country home at Bromley Estate. One of the children, R. K. von Goldstein would go on to become headmaster of Bishop Cotton School from 1963 to 1976.nAfter Felix’s death in the 1940s, Frau Goldstein leased the property to one Mr Wright who started the piggery. By the 1950s the property had been purchased by a certain Rani Sahiba of the erstwhile Punjab Princely States. During this time a fire broke out at Bromley and one of the cottages was completely gutted. In the 1960s Bromley changed hands again when it was purchased by Shri P. C. Multani, Deputy Commissioner Shimla and has since remained with his family as a summer home.

Wood works