Claude Martin was indeed a remarkable man. Besides his abilities as a soldier, he was much else. He was an outstanding surveyor and Rennel made him his deputy for preparing the first authentic and scientific maps of a region extending from Assam to Oudh. While in Oudh he attracted the attention of Asaf-ud-daula, the Nawab-Vizir, who asked the Governor -General for the loan of Martin's services. Being totally devoid of political ambition, Claude Martin became a close confidante of the Nawab-Vizir and a power behind the scenes. He spent the remainder of his life at Lucknow where by a mixture of skill, luck and hard work he became the richest European in Lucknow, so rich that he was able to lend 250,000 pounds to Nawab Asaf-ud-daula.

During the twenty-four years that he spent at Lucknow his genius flowered. He was in-charge of the state arsenal, the site on which Raj Bhawan stands today. He also manufactured cannon, ammunition, bells and coins. A self-taught architect, he designed and constructed several outstanding buildings. Some of which including the Chattar Manzil and Bibiapur Kothi can still be seen in Lucknow. Perhaps the grandest of all the buildings designed by him is "Constantia" which is now over 200 years old. Historians believe that the name "Constantia" was derived from Martin's motto 'Lahore et Constantia", which is engraved over one of the balconies of the building. But romantic people like to think that it was named after his first love, Constance whom he left behind in France when he came to India to seek his fortune. 'Constantia' - his country house and tomb at Lucknow, is a curious building in a blend of styles, which compulsively draws attention to itself. It has been described as a 'wedding cake in brick', 'a Gothic castle ' and a "baroque folly'. It is this building which forms the focal point of La Martiniere, Lucknow.

Claude Martin possessed one of the shrewdest minds of his day, as well as a range of interests, which enabled him to indulge in several key activities within early colonial India. Besides being an architect and a surveyor, he fanned indigo and had a banking system. He experimented with hot-air balloons and bladder surgery. He was an entrepreneur, botanist and patron of the arts, whose house in Lucknow became a centre for learned discussion. He advised the British as well as the Nawabs of Oudh on financial and political matters and in the process amassed a vast fortune. It is, perhaps for his philanthropy that he is best remembered today. His bequests are still alive in the form of the schools, which he endowed at Calcutta, Lucknow in India and at Lyon in France.

Of all the European adventurers, Claude Martin is singular in that he left the greater part of his wealth to a variety of charities. Being almost entirely self-educated, he realised the value of formalised education and set aside a vast portion of his estate for the founding of schools at Calcutta, Lucknow and Lyon (France), the city of his birth. All these schools are flourishing, training the youth of today to become educated, disciplined and useful citizens. Thousand who have passed through these schools have cause to be grateful for Claude Martin's generosity and foresight.

He breathed his last as Major-General Claude Martin in Lucknow on September 13, 1800. According to his wish, he was buried in the vault prepared for his remains in the basement of the college.