Former Supreme Court, Singapore

Monumental building in Singapore

Former Supreme Court

Location of Former Supreme Court in Singapore

Former names| Supreme Court
Alternative names| Old Supreme Court
General information
Status| Occupied
Type| Court
Architectural style| Baroque Revival, Neoclassical
Classification| B
Location| Singapore
Address| 1 St Andrew's Road, Singapore 178958
Town or city| Singapore
Country| Singapore
Coordinates| 1°17′23″N 103°51′04.5″E﻿ / ﻿1.28972°N 103.851250°E﻿ / 1.28972; 103.851250
Current tenants| National Gallery Singapore
Groundbreaking| 1 April 1937
Construction started| April 1937
Completed| 1939
Opened| 3 August 1939
Closed| 2011
Affiliation| National Heritage Board
Technical details
Floor area| 5,110 m2 (55,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)| Frank Dorrington Ward
Architecture firm| Public Works Department
Other designers| Rudolfo Nolli
Augusto Martelli
Main contractor| United Engineers

National monument of Singapore

Designated| 14 February 1992
Reference no.| 28

The Former Supreme Court Building (Malay: Bangunan Mahkamah Agung Lama, Chinese: 最高法院大厦) is the former courthouse of the Supreme Court of Singapore. The court moved to a new building, where it began operations on 20 June 2005. Opened in 1939, former courthouse was the last structure built in the style of classical architecture in the former British colony. Together with the Former City Hall, the former courthouse has been converted for use as National Gallery Singapore; the complex opened in 2015.[1]

## History

[edit]

Aerial panorama of Singapore's Downtown Core. The Old Supreme Court building is located in the middle of the panorama. Dome of the old Supreme Court Building at night (2011)

On 1 April 1937, Sir Shenton Whitelegge Thomas, Governor of the Straits Settlements[2] laid the original foundation stone of the Supreme Court Building. (At the time it was the largest foundation stone in the whole of Malaya.) Buried beneath the stone is a time capsule containing six Singaporean newspapers dated 31 March 1937, and a handful of coins of the Straits Settlements. The capsule is not due to be retrieved until the year 3000.[2]

The Supreme Court building was declared open on 3 August 1939 by Sir Shenton Thomas and handed over to the Chief Justice, Sir Percy McElwaine, on the same day.[2]

In 1946, after World War II, the building was the site of war crime trials of members of the Imperial Japanese Army for actions in Singapore during the war. [3]

After the court moved to a new building, the Former Supreme Court Building, together with the adjacent Former City Hall, was converted into use as the National Gallery Singapore, which opened in 2015.[1]

## Architecture and design

[edit]

The allegory of justice is visible below the cupola

The Former Singapore Supreme Court building was designed by Frank Dorrington Ward and built by United Engineers. It was built in front of the Padang grounds between 1937 and 1939.

## See also

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Former Supreme Court, Singapore.

* Supreme Court, Singapore
* City Hall MRT station

## Notes

[edit]

* Ho, Weng Hin (2008), The Former Supreme Court of Singapore & its Artificial Stone: Documentation, Analysis & Conservation Guidelines for a National Monument, Genoa: unpublished thesis, School of Specialization in Restoration of Monuments, University of Genoa, OCLC 233929838.
* History of Supreme Court

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Whiteman, Hilary (26 November 2015). "National Gallery Singapore finds first home for unseen art". CNN.
2. ^ a b c "AsiaExplorers - Visit, Discover & Enjoy Asia!". www.asiaexplorers.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
3. ^ Singapore, National Library Board. "Former Supreme Court building - Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.

National monuments of Singapore

(Legend: † demolished)

Gazetted
in 1970s|

| 1973|

* 1. Old Thong Chai Medical Institution
* 2. Armenian Church
* 3. St Andrew's Cathedral
* 4. Former Telok Ayer Market
* 5. Thian Hock Keng
* 6. Sri Mariamman Temple
* 7. Masjid Hajjah Fatimah
* 8. Cathedral of the Good Shepherd

|

1974|

* 9. Nagore Durgha
* 10. Masjid Al-Abrar
* 11. House of Tan Yeok Nee
* 12. Tan Si Chong Su
* 13. Masjid Jamae

1975|

* 14. Sultan Mosque

1978|

* 15. Saint George's Church
* 16. Hong San See
* 17. Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

1979|

* 18. Masjid Abdul Gaffoor

Gazetted
in 1980s|

| 1980|

* 19. Siong Lim Temple

|

1987|

* 20. Raffles Hotel

1989|

* 21. Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church
* 22. Goodwood Park Hotel (Tower Block)

Gazetted
in 1990s|

| 1990|

* 23. (Caldwell House and Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel)

|

1992|

* 24. (The Istana and Sri Temasek)
* 25. City Hall
* 26. Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
* 27. Old Parliament House and Annex Building
* 28. Old Supreme Court Building
* 29. Empress Place Building
* 30. National Museum of Singapore
* 31. Former Saint Joseph's Institution
* 32. Former Attorney-General's Chambers

1994|

* 33. Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall

1996|

* 34. Yueh Hai Ching Temple

1998|

* 35. Maghain Aboth Synagogue
* 36. Old Ministry of Labour Building
* 37. Old Tao Nan School
* 38. Chesed-El Synagogue
* 39. Old Hill Street Police Station
* 40. Ying Fo Fui Kun
* 41. Central Fire Station
* 42. Nanyang University Arch, Nanyang University Memorial and Nanyang University Library and Administration Building

1999|

* 43. The Chinese High School Clock Tower Building

Gazetted
in 2000s|

| 2002|

* 44. Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church
* 45. Former Admiralty House
* 46. Tan Teck Guan Building
* 47. College of Medicine Building

|

2003|

* 48. Cathay Building †
* 49. Church of Saints Peter and Paul
* 50. MacDonald House

2005|

* 51. Saint Joseph's Church
* 52. Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
* 53. Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
* 54. Tou Mu Kung Temple

2006|

* 55. Former Ford Factory

2009|

* 56. (Manasseh Meyer Building and Former Raffles College, currently the Bukit Timah campus of National University of Singapore)
* 57. Church of St Teresa
* 58. Keng Teck Whay
* 59. Former Command House
* 60. St James Power Station
* 61. Bowyer Block, Singapore General Hospital

Gazetted
in 2010s|

| 2010|

* 62. Singapore Conference Hall
* 63. (Lim Bo Seng Memorial, Tan Kim Seng Fountain and The Cenotaph)

|

2011|

* 64. Former Tanjong Pagar railway station

2013|

* 65. Civilian War Memorial

2014|

* 66. Chung Cheng High School (Main)
* 67. Sri Thendayuthapani Temple
* 68. Masjid Alkaff Upper Serangoon

2015|

* 69. Jurong Town Hall
* 70. Istana Kampong Glam
* 71. Fullerton Building

2016|

* 72. Changi Prison, Old Entrance Gate, Turret and Wall

2019|

* 73. (Anderson Bridge, Cavenagh Bridge and Elgin Bridge)

Gazetted
in 2020s|

| 2022|

* 74. Fort Siloso
* 75. Padang

|