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Mandalay Villa

Mandalay Villa, on Amber Road, was built in 1902 by a prominent businessman of the Peranakan community, Lee Cheng Yan. This beautiful bungalow with a fanciful facade was well known for parties thrown by Lee Cheng Yan's daughter-in-law, Mrs Lee Choon Guan, which brought the Chinese and British communities together in those days when they seldom mixed.

History
Lee Cheng Yan was born into an established Malaccan family in 1841. After his family moved to Singapore, he made his mark in property, trading and finance, founding a trading firm on Telok Ayer Street. At the beginning of the 20th century, he built four holiday villas; Magenta Cottage in Killiney Road, Hampstead Bath in Upper Bukit Timah, Mandalay Villa in Amber Road and a seaside bungalow in Changi Point.

When Lee Cheng Yan died, his son, Lee Choon Guan (b. 1868 - d. 1924, Singapore), took over the family business. As the younger Lee further enhanced it, he became well-known in the Peranakan business circles. With the passing of his first wife, Lee Choon Guan remarried in 1900 to a Tan Teck Neo, the daughter of prominent businessman Tan Keong Saik. With her, Lee Choon Guan had two children; a son, Pang Soo, and a daughter, Poh Neo. Lee Choon Guan had many children from his first marriage. Tan Teck Neo grew up in a privileged environment but that did not stop her from doing charity work which put her in the spotlight. She founded the Chinese Women's Association in 1915. Three years later, for her charitable achievements and for her work for the British Red Cross during WWI, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

Lee Choon Guan and his second wife lived at Mandalay Villa. At Lee Choon Guan's untimely death in 1924 at the age of 56, his socialite wife became the sole owner. Housing three or four households, life in Mandalay Villa was quite open and easy-going not least due to the progressive outlook of its grand head. Mrs Lee Choon Guan was popular for throwing many lavish parties at her home where the list of guests included the Who's Who of Singapore society and Malay royalty. The not-so-rich Kampong Amber folks also had their own way of partying when it came to pay respect and gratitude to Mrs Lee Choon Guan, parading in processions with decorated floats. The land which Kampong Amber sat on belonged to Lee Choon Guan's estate, and the villagers were allowed to build their huts there for a nominal fee. Mandalay Villa is also remembered in Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs as being the place where he proposed to his wife-to-be after a party there.

Description
Mandalay Villa was located on No. 29 Amber Road, by the Katong seaside. It was a two-storey bungalow, erected over a land area measuring 53,000 sq ft. This land area did not include a pavilion built into the sea. Constructed by the firm Lermit & Westerhouse, it distinguished itself from the other Katong sea-side bungalows with its grand facade, intricate carvings and huge garden. Entrance to the bungalow was preceded by a long driveway, past a massive and beautiful wrought-iron gate, with a sentry box to its left. The garden was studded with two gigantic angsanas, a silvery statue of Eros and many palm trees. The semi-circular entrance porch or veranda had three arches and no doors. Furniture on the veranda consisted of a round marble table and several rattan armchairs. Long garden benches were placed against the columns of the veranda. This arrangement enabled at least fourteen people to be seated in the veranda quite comfortably and the sea breeze made it one of the coolest parts of the house, and Mrs Lee Choon Guan's favourite.

The house had many bedrooms. And there were rooms to house the maids, Hainanese cooks, Hainanese valets and several Cantonese amahs. The main dining room, surrounded by tall windows with vertical iron security bars, was furnished with teak cabinets within which silverware, crystal and crockery were kept for display. A covered walkway led to a huge detached kitchen. The open grounds surrounding the house were extensive. A rose garden with a fountain used to be located between the driveway and the sea. A grass tennis court used to be present in the main garden, which was the main venue for Mrs Lee Choon Guan's numerous parties. A tiled footpath between the two lawns led past the sea wall to a pavilion built over the sea. The pavilion had two bedrooms gilded by Italian artists and a living room. This pavilion was demolished by the British forces in anticipation of the Japanese before the war. As the seaside structures were expected to block the sight of advancing Japanese forces, a large part of the house was also blown up. During the Japanese Occupation, Mandalay Villa served as the residence of a Japanese general. The Lee family evacuated the house for India, and after the war, the family returned to a desolate house looted and destroyed beyond recognition. Nevertheless, the family made Mandalay Villa their home again.

In the 1970s, around 20,000 sq ft of land in Mandalay villa was acquired by the government for the construction of a roundabout between Amber and Marine Parade Roads. The demise of Mrs Lee at the age of 100 in 1978 dealt a huge blow to Mandalay Villa. The bungalow was then left vacant for a long time as many of its occupants had married and moved into their own homes. The eventful life that Mrs Lee Choon Guan had led, and the many changes that took place in the bungalow during and after the war, left many stories and memories within the walls of the villa. Eventually, the empty house was sold. The new owners however chose to demolish the house and build a condominium in its place. With the razing of Mandalay Villa to the ground, an era of glorious days and well-remembered parties came to an end.



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References 
Kong, L. (2001). Joo Chiat: A living legacy (pp. 122-125). Singapore: Joo Chiat Citizens' Consultative Committee in association with National Archives of Singapore.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 KON)

Lee, K. Y. (1998, September 21). The Singapore Story. Time, 152 (11).
(Call no.: R 051 T)

Lee, P. (1998). Rumah baba: Life in a peranakan house (pp. 25-33). Singapore: National Heritage Board.
(Call no.: SING 305.89510595 LEE)

Singapore Tatler. (1995). Singapore chronicles (pp. 102-107, 162). Hong Kong: Illustrated Magazine.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SIN)


Further Readings
Lee, K. Y. (2002). The Singapore Story. Retrieved December 4, 2003, from
www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1998/980921/lee_kuan_yew4.html 

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>Historic Buildings
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>
Residential Buildings
Ethnic Communities
Historic buildings--Singapore
Singapore--History--1867-1942
Arts>>Architecture>>Residential buildings
People and communities>>Social groups and communities



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