Phillip Street
Phillip Street (or Philip Street) is a short one-way street in Chinatown that connects Chulia Street to Church Street. It was named either after William Edward Phillips, the governor of Penang (1820–26) or after Charles Phillip, the superintendent of the Sailors’ Home.
Phillip Street, one of the older streets in Singapore, ran along the coastal area in the early 19th century. The street is home to the Yueh Hai Ching Temple (Wak Hai Cheng Bio in Teochew), one of the oldest Chinese temples in Singapore. In the 1800s, a group of Teochew immigrants built a shrine dedicated to Mazu, Goddess of the Sea, on the street. The shrine was then near the sea before land reclamation pushed the coastline out. Newly arrived Teochew immigrants visited the shrine to give thanks for their safe journey and seek blessings from the deity. In 1826, a proper temple was built on the site of the shrine. In the mid-1850s, the temple was rebuilt by the Nee Ann Kongsi.
In 1830, Phillip Street and one side of Market Street were razed by a fire that had begun in a blacksmith's shop. This paved the way for the construction of shophouses and terrace houses in 1931 to replace the badly-built houses. In the 1980s, the area encompassing Phillip Street, Market Street and some nearby streets underwent urban redevelopment, and the shophouses were replaced by high-rise buildings. Today, Phillip Street is part of the Central Business District.
This street was occasionally spelt as Phillips Street. It was named after W E Phillips, Governor of the Straits Settlements in Penang (1820-1826). One account, such as the one above, mentioned that it was named after Charles Philip (1835-1904), the Superintendent of the Sailors' Home and a missionary. However, this street was seen in the press as early as 1830 before Charles Philip was born.
Source: What's in the Name? by Ng Yew Peng, Pg. 359
Yueh Hai Ching Temple is one of the oldest Taoist temples in Singapore. It was established in 1826 by the Teochew community and is also known as Wak Hai Cheng Bio in the Teochew dialect. The present building at 30B Philip Street was built in the 1850s and gazetted as a national monument on 28 June 1996. The temple received an imperial signboard from Emperor Guang Xu of the Qing dynasty in 1907, an honour accorded to only two temples in Singapore, the other being Thian Hock Keng.
Wak Hai Cheng Bio
According to the book "Chao Qiao Su Yuan Ji", Wak Hai Cheng Bio (Yueh Hai Ching Temple) was a Mazu shrine located at Chulia Street. The shrine was built before 1738 by Lin Pan, a native of Theng Hai (Chenghai) in Swatow (Shantou). In 1820 Wak Hai Cheng Bio was rebuilt by Heng Hong Soon (Wang Feng Shun), a native of Ampou (Anbu), Teo Ann (Chao'an), who was also the founder of Ban Si Soon Kongsi (Wan Shi Shun Gongsi). The strongest evidence to support this claim was a censer found in Wak Hai Cheng Bio that was dated 1819.
The most distinctive feature of this temple is the rooftop's figurines that depict scenes of Teochew opera, creating an architecture that is quitessentially Teochew and comparable to the best in Chaozhou. They were created using a technique known as Qian Ci ornamentation, similar to the Hokkien's Jian Nian. As explained on Ngee Ann Kongsi website, "these figures were created using the porcelain-inlay method, or qianci, which is a process distinct to the Chaoshan province of Chaozhou. Porcelain pieces in a collage of colours were cut to size and pasted onto the plastered figurines, providing a glazed sheen which gives a smooth and vibrant aesthetic. It was gazetted as a national moument of Singapore on 28 June 1996 and won the Unesco Heritage Award in 2015 for its "meticulous conservation work to retain the building's original patina and ceramic ornamentations".
Church Street
Named after Thomas Church (1798-1860) who was a Resident Councillor in Singapore. He was appointed Acting Govenor of the Straits Settlements from April to October 1834 and became the Resident Councillor of Singapore from 1837 to 1856.
One other Church Street (named after a Catholic Church) in the past was renamed Waterloo Street in 1858.
Source: What's in the Name? by Yew Peng Ng, Pg. 124
George Street
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