A last look at a 127 year old former “House on the Hill” a.k.a. “Tower House”, before it becomes part of a residential development known as “Haus on Handy”:
Perched on the brow of the hill we know as Mount Sophia is a last of a hilltop once devoted to the large and airy residences of the mid to late 19th century, a two-storey house known as “Tower House”. Used in more recent years as a playschool “House on the Hill”, the conservation house was included in a land sales exercise last year as part of a larger plot.
An early photo of Tower House (source: Memories, gems and sentiments : 100 years of Methodist Girls’ School).
Built in 1892 for the Singapore Land Company, the house was laid out – unusually for the houses of Singapore in the day – on an asymmetrical plan. It featured a carriage porch and a dining room on the ground level and living and sleeping spaces on the upper level. As with the houses of the day, ample openings and generously proportioned verandahs are provided for a maximum of light and ventilation.
More on the house, which I had an opportunity to visit and learn more about some 7 years back, can be found in this November 2011 post: Windows to Heaven.
The former House on the Hill on its perch at the top of Mount Sophia.
A plaque commemorating the repurposing of the house as the Women’s Society of Christian Service Centre in Dec 1989.
Wrought-iron grilles.
What would have been the dining room.
Evidence of the house’s last occupants.
A doorway into the service area.
A door way to the verandah area surrounding the former dining room.
A view of the ground floor verandah.
Another view from the verandah.
The second level
The Drawing Room.
Views around the verandah.
The starirway to heaven (the tower)
Views from the Tower
Miscellaneous Views
