Bencoolen Street is a street

Street

A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...

 in Central

Central Region, Singapore

The Central Region of Singapore is one of the five regions in the city-state. Comprising 13,150 hectares of land area, it includes 11 Planning Areas within the Central Area which is the immediate vicinity of the Singapore's central business district, as well as another 11 more outside it.Although...

, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 that starts at the junction of Rochor Road and Jalan Besar

Jalan Besar

Jalan Besar is the name of a street in the northeastern part of the Central Area in Singapore, which is its central business district. It is also the name of the electoral Jalan Basar Group Representation Constituency, of which Jalan Basar is a prominent centrepiece...

 and ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Stamford Road

Stamford Road

Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street...

 and Orchard Road

Orchard Road

Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...

. The street houses several landmark

Landmark

This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

s including Sim Lim Square

Sim Lim Square

Sim Lim Square , commonly referred to as SLS, is an established commercial shopping centre specialising in electronics and IT Products in Singapore,...

, Bencoolen Mosque and Albert Complex. A number of hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s and serviced apartment

Serviced apartment

A serviced apartment is a type of furnished apartment available for short-term or long-term stays, which provides amenities for daily use. Serviced apartments can be less expensive than equivalent hotel rooms...

s exist, namely Summer View Hotel, Bayview Hotel Singapore, Hotel 81 Bencoolen, Strand Hotel

Strand Hotel

The Strand is a Victorian-style hotel located in Yangon, Myanmar , built in 1896 by Aviet and Tigran Sarkie, two of the Sarkies Brothers. The hotel, which opened in 1901, which faces the Hlaing — or Yangon — River to its south, is one of the most famous hotels in Yangon and Southeast Asia, and is...

, Hotel Rendezvous and Somerset Bencoolen.

Etymology and history

Bencoolen Street was named in remembrance of Sir Stamford Raffles' position as Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

 in Bencoolen (now Bengkulu

Bengkulu

Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...

), Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, as well as that it was located in Kampong Bencoolen.

When Raffles came to the island in 1819, a number of Bencoolen Malays

Malay people

Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...

 came as well and settled in the area where the street was. When the British gave up Bencoolen in 1824, after signing the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814...

, the number of Bencoolen Malays grew. The majority of the oldest Singaporean Malays

Malays in Singapore

Malays in Singapore are defined by the Singaporean government using the broader and antiquated "Malay race" concept, rather than modern-day Malay ethnic group. Although Malays have inhabited the area that is now Singapore since the 17th century, most of the Malays in Singapore today are immigrants...

 and Eurasians

Eurasian (mixed ancestry)

The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....

 descended from the Bencoolen Malays.

Kampong Bencoolen covers the area of Bencoolen Street itself, Waterloo Street

Waterloo Street

Waterloo Street is a two-way street in downtown Singapore stretching from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road. It passes through the planning areas of Rochor and Museum Planning Area....

, Prinsep Street, Middle Road

Middle Road, Singapore

Middle Road is a road located in the Downtown Core and Rochor within the Central Area of Singapore. It starts from its junction with Selegie Road and ends at Beach Road. Middle Road was already in existence in early Singapore, appearing in George Drumgoole Coleman's Map of Singapore in 1836...

 and Albert Street. Bencoolen Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s built a mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 between 1825 and 1825 known as Masjid Benggali (now the Bencoolen Mosque). The first building was made from attap and an Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 merchant

Merchant

A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

 came in 1845, known as Syed Omar bin Aljunied built the second building. Bencoolen Mosque was demolished in the early 2000s and made way for a new mosque. The mosque is currently owned by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura

Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura

The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura , also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore is a statutory board in Singapore...

 (MUIS). Alongside with the new mosque, a service apartment building run by the Ascott Group exists. The graveyard

Graveyard

A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...

s of the Bencoolen Muslims were located in where the current Istana

Istana Singapore

The Istana is the official residence and office of the President of Singapore. Meaning "palace" in Malay, it is where the president receives and entertains state guests. The Istana is also the working office of the Prime Minister of Singapore...

 is, facing Orchard Road.

The Chinese

Singaporean Chinese

Singaporean Chinese may refer to:* Chinese Singaporean, the citizens or residents of Singapore who are of Chinese ancestry* Singaporean Mandarin, the dialect of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Singapore...

 in pre-war

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 days sometimes referred the street as chai tng au, meaning "behind the vegetarian hall", alluding to the meeting place of the Chinese vegetarian guild located in that area.