Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church
Encyclopedia
The Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church (Chinese: 布连拾街长老会磐石堂) is a Presbyterian church in Singapore
. It is located at Prinsep Street in the Rochor Planning Area, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district
.
The present church was constructed in 1930. Founded in 1843, it was then known as the Malay Chapel. It was the first Straits Chinese
church in Singapore. The chapel
was replaced with the present Romanesque
style building and dedicated in 1931. The Singapore Boys’ Brigade
was founded here.
, Reverend Benjamin Peach Keasberry, started an elite boarding school
for Malay
boys in Rochor
, with an attached printing press
. Some of his pupils were thought to have been of royal
descent.
In 1843, the church building on Prinsep Street was completed and Keasberry moved his printing
business there. The church was first named Malay Chapel in recognition of the reverend's contribution to the Malay community. It was also popularly known as Greja Keasberry or Keasberry's Church. The missionary Samuel Dyer
preached the first sermon at the Malay Chapel in 1843..
In 1847, shortly after the inauguration of the church, the London Missionary Society left Singapore for China
, leaving Keasberry to carry the torch alone. This he did stoically, until his death on 6 September 1875. To honour him, an engrave
d stone plaque
was placed on his grave
in Bukit Timah
by his former student Maharajah Abubakar of Johore.
In 1885, the Presbyterian community, funded by Singaporean merchant
s living in London
, bought the building from the London Missionary Society. It was renamed Prinsep Street Church. As the purchase was initiated by Reverend J.A.B. Cook, the missionary in charge of the English Presbyterian Church
, Prinsep Street Church now came under its administration.
The Straits Chinese
congregation held services
at the church, as did the Teochew
Tek Kha Group or Kandang Kerbau Market Group, and the pupils of Sophia Cooke's Chinese Girls' School. The Tek Kha Group established their headquarters at Prinsep Street Church and remained there until 1929 when their own church building which is also on Prinsep Street (diagonally oppopsite) and now known as Singapore Life Church, was ready.
As early as 1901, plans were made for a new church. On 5 March 1930, Song Ong Siang
, who later became the first Malayan
Chinese
to be knight
ed, laid the foundation stone. The church was officially opened and dedicated on 4 February 1931.
In November 1931, upon formerly joining the Synod
of the English Presbytery
, Prinsep Street Church was eligible to include "Presbyterian" in its name. Thus, the Straits Chinese Presbyterian Church was born.
During the Japanese Occupation
, the church was damaged by shrapnel and mortar
shell
s. Reverend Gibson, who had been incarcerated by the Japan
ese during World War II
, repaired the church upon his release in 1947.
In 1953, the first full-time local pastor
, Reverend John J.K. Lu, was appointed. The post-war years saw a fall in the Straits Chinese congregation and the church was renamed Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church in 1956. Its non-Straits Chinese congregation grew rapidly and, in the mid-1980s, a four-storey building was erected to accommodate their needs.
In the 1960s, the Church operated a kindergarten in mornings.
The Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church was gazette
d as a national monument
on 12 January 2000.
C.J. Stephens of Swan and Maclaren
. Its most notable features are the deep red brick
s and raised brickwork
on the tower
and belfry
.
At the front of the church, lightly modelled brickwork rises high in gable
formation expressing the shape of the roof
and culminating in a bell
tower, now housing a loudspeaker
. Buildings within the enclosure are all render
ed and paint
ed.
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...
. It is located at Prinsep Street in the Rochor Planning Area, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
The present church was constructed in 1930. Founded in 1843, it was then known as the Malay Chapel. It was the first Straits Chinese
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
church in Singapore. The chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was replaced with the present Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style building and dedicated in 1931. The Singapore Boys’ Brigade
The Boys' Brigade in Singapore
The Boys' Brigade in Singapore is a youth uniformed group organisation which has been present in Singapore since 1930. It currently consists of over 700 officers and 5,500 Boys in over 117 companies. Its current Brigade President is Mr Tan Kok Heng...
was founded here.
History
In 1839, a Presbyterian minister of the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, Reverend Benjamin Peach Keasberry, started an elite boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for Malay
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...
boys in Rochor
Rochor
Rochor is a place in the central area of Singapore. There are two hotels in the area and there are many commercial buildings in the area as well.-External links:*...
, with an attached printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
. Some of his pupils were thought to have been of royal
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
descent.
In 1843, the church building on Prinsep Street was completed and Keasberry moved his printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
business there. The church was first named Malay Chapel in recognition of the reverend's contribution to the Malay community. It was also popularly known as Greja Keasberry or Keasberry's Church. The missionary Samuel Dyer
Samuel Dyer
Samuel Dyer 台約爾 , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China in the Congregationalist tradition, who worked among the Chinese in Malaysia. He arrived in Penang in 1827. Dyer, his wife Maria, and their family lived in Malacca and then finally in Singapore...
preached the first sermon at the Malay Chapel in 1843..
In 1847, shortly after the inauguration of the church, the London Missionary Society left Singapore for China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, leaving Keasberry to carry the torch alone. This he did stoically, until his death on 6 September 1875. To honour him, an engrave
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
d stone plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
was placed on his grave
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
in Bukit Timah
Bukit Timah
Bukit Timah is an area in Singapore and a hill in that area. Bukit Timah is located near the centre of the Singapore main island. The hill stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres and is the highest point in the city-state of Singapore...
by his former student Maharajah Abubakar of Johore.
In 1885, the Presbyterian community, funded by Singaporean 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...
s living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, bought the building from the London Missionary Society. It was renamed Prinsep Street Church. As the purchase was initiated by Reverend J.A.B. Cook, the missionary in charge of the English Presbyterian Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
, Prinsep Street Church now came under its administration.
The Straits Chinese
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
congregation held services
Service of worship
In the Protestant denominations of Christianity, a service of worship is a meeting whose primary purpose is the worship of God. The phrase is normally shortened to service. It is also commonly called a worship service...
at the church, as did the Teochew
Teochew people
The Chaozhou people are Han people, native to the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province of China who speak the Teochew dialect. Today, most Teochew people live outside China in Southeast Asia especially in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can also be found almost anywhere in the...
Tek Kha Group or Kandang Kerbau Market Group, and the pupils of Sophia Cooke's Chinese Girls' School. The Tek Kha Group established their headquarters at Prinsep Street Church and remained there until 1929 when their own church building which is also on Prinsep Street (diagonally oppopsite) and now known as Singapore Life Church, was ready.
As early as 1901, plans were made for a new church. On 5 March 1930, Song Ong Siang
Song Ong Siang
Sir Ong-siang Song K.B.E., V.D., M.A., LL.M., was a lawyer and active citizen of the British Colony of Singapore. He was a third-generation Straits Chinese or Peranakan Baba , and the first ever Asian in Singapore to be knighted...
, who later became the first Malayan
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to be knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed, laid the foundation stone. The church was officially opened and dedicated on 4 February 1931.
In November 1931, upon formerly joining the Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of the English Presbytery
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
, Prinsep Street Church was eligible to include "Presbyterian" in its name. Thus, the Straits Chinese Presbyterian Church was born.
During the Japanese Occupation
Japanese Occupation of Singapore
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
, the church was damaged by shrapnel and mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
shell
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
s. Reverend Gibson, who had been incarcerated by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese during World War II
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...
, repaired the church upon his release in 1947.
In 1953, the first full-time local pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, Reverend John J.K. Lu, was appointed. The post-war years saw a fall in the Straits Chinese congregation and the church was renamed Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church in 1956. Its non-Straits Chinese congregation grew rapidly and, in the mid-1980s, a four-storey building was erected to accommodate their needs.
In the 1960s, the Church operated a kindergarten in mornings.
The Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church was gazette
Gazette
A gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...
d as a national monument
National Monuments of Singapore
National Monuments of Singapore are buildings and structures in Singapore that have been designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board as being of special historic, traditional, archaeological, architectural or artistic value....
on 12 January 2000.
Architecture
The Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church was designed by architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
C.J. Stephens of Swan and Maclaren
Swan and Maclaren
Swan and MacLaren Architects is the oldest architectural firm in Singapore. Formerly known as Swan and MacLaren, it was the most prominent architectural firm in Singapore when Singapore was a British colony in the early 20th century.-Early history:...
. Its most notable features are the deep red brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s and raised brickwork
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
on the tower
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
and belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
.
At the front of the church, lightly modelled brickwork rises high in gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
formation expressing the shape of the roof
Roof
A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
and culminating in a bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
tower, now housing a loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
. Buildings within the enclosure are all render
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed and paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
ed.