Bencoolen Street

By Cornelius-Takahama, Vernon written on 1999-02-11
National Library Board Singapore

Comments on article: InfopediaTalk

Bengkulu, on the coast of West Sumatra was renamed Bencoolen by the British. The British outpost base was originally at Fort York (at Pasar Bengkulu) from 1685 although the base was later relocated in the 19th century and called Fort Marlborough. When Stamford Raffles was made Lieutenant-General of Bencoolen between 1818 to 1820, he realised that the location was too far from the great trade routes through Sunda and Malacca Straits, and therefore its position unfavourable for trade. This realisation resulted in his founding of Singapore. The British and Dutch Treaty of 1824 gave Bencoolen to Holland, and as a result, in 1825, more than 900 Indian convicts were transferred to Singapore, and housed in temporary wooden attap huts in Kampong Bencoolen where the Temenggong and his followers resided, off what is now Empress Place. On Bencoolen Street, the original Bengkali Mosque or Masjid Bencoolen was built around 1845, by Syed bin Ali Al-Junied for Bencoolen Muslims who lived nearby. Today, a replacement building stands in its place.

Buildings around Bencoolen Street
From the junction where Bencoolen Street meet Bras Basah Road, stood several hotels and dormitories, such as the Rendezvous Hotel, Strand Hotel, Hotel 81 and Somerset Bencoolen Hotel. Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts is located across these hotels and dormitories, and at the end of Bencoolen Street, is Sim Lim Square, a popular

Variant Names
Chinese names:
(1) In Hokkien, Chhai-tng au and in Cantonese, Chai-thong hau means "behind the Vegetarians' Hall" as there was a Chinese Vegetarian guild meeting house located along the street.
(2) In Hokkien, Mang-ku-lu toa lo means "Bencoolen big street".
(3) In Cantonese, Mong-kwo-lo means "Bencoolen". A number of streets in this neighbourhood are referred to as "Bencoolen" by various dialect groups, thus it is difficult to ascertain which street is being referred to as Bencoolen Street.



Author
Vernon Cornelius



References 
 Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (pp. 7, 9, 11, 25, 49, 55, 60, 65, 173, 175). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)

Durai R. S. S. (3rd ed.). (1980). Place-names in Peninsular Malaysia (p. 83). Kuala Lumpur: Archipelago Publishers.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.5 RAJ)

Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (pp. 270, 283). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 EDW)

Tyers, R. K. (1993). Ray Tyers' Singapore: Then and now (p. 74). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TYE) 

Firmstone, H. W. (1905, February). Chinese names of streets and places in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 64. 
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 FIR) 



The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.


Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Streets and Places
Street names--Singapore
Historic sites--Singapore
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings



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