today, we went to locate and explore the danish seamen's church at 10 pender road, mount faber. it is a small church - with a sunday congregation of about 40 worshippers - catering to the small community of danes in singapore. we were told that there are about 1500 people of danish nationality residing in singapore.
there are at least three bells in the compound of this building. wonder if these have anything to do with its association with seamen. the smallest yellow box in singapore is also found inside in the compound of the building. on the day of our visit, there were many prams within the compound. on thursday mornings, they conduct a playgroup for small chidren in one of the rooms in the main building. maybe, the yellow box is meant to ensure that the prams do not block the passageway.
the pastor lives in room upstairs, i suppose, it is just below the dome, and the other two live downstairs in an adjacent building. this blog mentioned that the chinese revolutionary leader dr sun yat sen stayed one night in this building. some of his family members were believed to have stayed in the same mansion, though not at the same time as dr sun.
the dome resembling a buddhist stupa was built in 1909 for straits chinese tan boon liat. the house was sold in 1934 after owner's death in shanghai.
7 comments:
visited it once but only on the outside... didn't go in...
i read somewhere that it actually belongs to some wealthy chinese who is renting it out to the church...
thanks for sharing
cheers
geotacs, the danish seamen's church (s'pore) was founded in 1984. so, what was this place used as during the intervening years? i wonder if anyone knows the answer.
I have visited Mount Faber many times but have never noticed this church. Hmm... maybe it's because I usually don't go there in the day.
you can view more pictures of the danish seamen's church here . the pictures were taken by one of my walking kakis, jason.
For your information, the mansion was built by Mr Tan Boo Liat in 1909. He was the great grandson of Tan Tock Seng and a wealthy race horse owner. His horse "Vanitas" won the Viceroy Cup in 1898. Mr Tan was also a keen supporter of Dr Sun Yat Sen and hosted him on his last visit to Singapore.
hi roney, thanks for your information on the first owner of the danish seamens church.
Hi yg, you are welcomed. For your further information, the descendants of Tan Boo Liat and their relatives will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Golden Bell when they meet in Singapore in July next year. Should you want more information on the Golden bell do let me know. Cheers. Roney Tan
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