Before the time of Stamford Raffles and William Farquhar, Emerald Hill was believed to be fully covered in primary rainforest. However, around the early 1800s, many Chinese immigrants occupied the land with Gambier or pepper plantation to make a living of their own, exhausting the land to its ends. Thus, when William Cuppage finally owned the land legally, it had already become a barren field.
May 2021
William Cuppage, a postal clerk who rose to become the acting Postmaster General in the 1840s, first leased Emerald Hill in 1837 and in 1845 secured a permanent grant for his nutmeg plantation, which failed in the 1860s because of disease.
Cuppage himself moved from his residence in Hill Street to Emerald Hill in the early 1850s and lived in the area till his death in 1872. Here he built two houses (Erin Lodge and Fern Cottage) where he lived. After his death, Cuppage's plantation was left to his daughters and in 1890 it was sold to one of his sons-in-law, the lawyer Edwin Koek.
The "five foot way", June 2021
June 2021
No. 127 Emerald Hill, June 2021
Koek turned the area into an orchard and built another house on the estate, called Claregrove. Koek's orchard venture failed, however, and he went bankrupt. The property was then sold to Thomas E. Rowell in 1891.
By the turn of the twentieth century, the 13.2 hectareland and its three houses (Erin, Fern and Claregrove) were the property of Seah Boon Kang and Seah Boon Kiat. These three houses were subsequently demolished: Fern Cottage in 1906 made way for terrace houses; in 1924 Claregrove gave way to the Singapore Chinese Girls' School; Erin Lodge was replaced with more terrace houses.
June 2021
No. 58 Emerald Hill, June 2021
No. 39 Emerald Hill, June 2021
In 1901, they subdivided the property into 38 plots, ten of which they kept while the remaining twenty-eight lots were sold to various people. One of the persons who bought three lots (Lots 6, 7, 8), was an influential Peranakan named Lim Boon Keng.
The first few houses were built by Theocews and Peranakans, follow by Hokkiens that later moved into this area from Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street in Chinatown. Then, a few numbers of houses in this area were known to be built by wealthy Chinese man, to keep their mistresses away from their wives in Chinatown.
No. 98 Emerald Hill, June 2021
June 2021
No. 49 Emerald Hill, June 2021
The dwellings comprise of terrace houses of a variety of architectural styles (ranging from Transitional, Late to Art-Deco) as well as independent mansions (now demolished). Many feature ornate pintu-pagars and have ground floor facades decorated with attractive ceramic tilework. Elaborate plaster work and wood carvings combine to create an architectural hybrid that is also referred to as ‘Chinese Baroque’.
Singapore Chinese Girls School (SCGS)
No. 37 Emerald Hill, June 2021
SCGS moved to 37 Emerald Hill in 1926, after several years of uncertainty in different buildings on Hill Street. For the first time, the school now had its own purpose-built structure – a 2-storey building with 12 classrooms, a staff room, teachers’ office and an assembly hall. As the school’s enrolment grew, more buildings were added to the site, each with their own distinctive architecture. These included the Song Ong Siang Block fronting Emerald Hill Road in 1955, and the Lee Kong Chian Block in the early 1970s.
37 Emerald Hill bore witness to many key events that were significant both for Singapore and the school, including the Japanese occupation from 1942 – 1945 (which saw the school used as a quarters for “comfort women”), a brief period of admitting male students, the opening of enrolment to girls of all races, as well as the achievement of independent school status.
Emerald Hill Road
Emerald Hill Road was laid out in 1901 and the current terrace houses alongside the road were built between 1901 and 1925.
June 2021
Hullet Road
Hullet Road was built in 1914 and named after R.W. Hullet, principal of Raffles Institution from 1871 and later Director of Public Instruction on his departure from Singapore in 1906 after having stayed here for 35 years. His name is also commemorated in Raffles Institution in the form of a Hullet Scholarship awarded since 1908. The road was named after Hullet at the request of Dr Lim Boon Keng, who was Hullet's pupil.
April 2022
Saunders Road
Saunders Road was named in 1927 after the British colonial officer, Charles James Saunders. Saunders held several official appointments. He was District Judge (1908), Registrar of Companies and Official Assignee (1915) and Secretary for Chinese Affairs, Straits Settlements (1922). He was also a member of the Legislative Council.
No. 2 Saunders Road, June 2021
No. 18-22 Saunders Road, April 2022
No. 30 Saunders Road, April 2022
Peranakan Place
Situated at the mouth of Emerald Hill Road, Peranakan Place was established in 1985 as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) designation of Emerald Hill as a conservation area. The restoration of the original row of 6 two-storey shop-houses previously built in 1902 preserved the ornate and colourful Straits Chinese style of design and architecture.
The historic development, now containing several commercial businesses, sits at the junction between Emerald Hill Road and Orchard Road. It has since become an attraction for both locals and tourists.
House 6 to 16 Emerald Hill Road were built for the developer Phua Poh Khim in 1911 by Tan Seng Chong, the first Chinese to start his own architectural practice in Singapore. The 1st storey was once a provision shop - Chop Kim Hoe - operated by the Chua family who lived upstairs.
No. 6 Emerald Hill, May 2021
No. 8 Emerald Hill, May 2021
No. 10 Emerald Hill, May 2021
No. 12 Emerald Hill, May 2021
No. 14 Emerald Hill, May 2021
No. 16 Emerald Hill, May 2021
The terrace houses at 39 and 43 were built for Goh Kee Hoon, designed in 1905 by Wan Mohamad Kassim, who was leading the architectural department at G.A. Fernandez & Company.
No. 39-43 Emerald Hill, May 2021
Terrace house 45 stands out with the widest frontage in Emerald Hill. The broad site makes it possible for the internal courtyard to be centrally located instead of at the side as with most terrace houses. The house also has a distinctive traditional Teochew style gateway with upturned swallow tail roof ridge decorated with cut porcelain pieces otherwise known as jian nian (剪粘).
No. 45 Emerald Hill, June 2021
Terrace houses 53 to 85 Emerald Hill Road were built in the mid-1920s by Low Koon Yee, a prominent Teochew businessman. He also developed the row of 15 terrace houses of similar style at Saunders Road. The houses were designed by R. T. Rajoo who combined both European with Chinese architectural traditions into an eclectic style unique to this region.
In 1916, houses 64 to 74 were designed by Johannes Bartholomew (Birch) Westerhout for Puey Soo Keng. The former also served as the Municipal Commissioner (1929 to 1934) and the Justice of the Peace (1935).
No. 68-74 Emerald Hill, April 2022
No. 66-70 Emerald Hill, April 2022
Pathway along no. 66-74 Emerald Hill, April 2022
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