Connell House

Connell House, former home of the Missions to Seamen, was a sailors' haven and used to be located at 1 Anson Road. The Missions to Seamen was a London-based non-profit organisation which was established in 1856 to provide quality shelter to Christian sailors. It had many branches in ports across the world. The Missions to Seamen later changed its name to Mission to Seafarers and continued to take care of the welfare of Christian sailors until today. Connell House provided for the sailors until 1971 when the building was acquired by the Government. The Missions to Seamen relocated to a new home in 1983 at a two-storey pre-war shophouse at 291 River Valley Road. Today, the shelter that sailors used to enjoy at Connell House is provided by the Mission to Seafarers at a drop-in centre at Jurong Port.

History
Matthew Connell was an engineer with the British Merchant Navy, the global network of seafarers that kept the British Empire together through the imports and exports of goods. Connell first arrived in Singapore at the turn of the 20th century and made Singapore his home port. Upon arriving, he and his colleagues stayed at a place called the Sailors' Home. This Sailors' Home had begun operation in Singapore since the early 1850s and was originally located on High Street. In 1857, it expanded to include a property of American consul Joseph Balestier. By 1892, the Home had moved to a small house at the corner of North Bridge Road and Stamford Road (opposite St. Andrew's Cathedral), the site of present Capitol Building.

Description
Over time, Connell realised the need for a bigger place as the number of sailors calling at the port of Singapore was increasing. It was Connell's wish to establish a home for sailors where they could enjoy quality hospitality services after roughing it out at sea. The Missions to Seamen, a non-profit organisation founded in 1856 by the Anglican Church in London, had been providing such services. He donated $50,000 for the construction a building to house the sailors. In 1924 when Connell died, The Sailor's Home at the junction of North Bridge Road and Stamford Road was sold. Proceeds from this sale were pooled together with the amount left behind by Connell to acquire a three-acres site at 1 Anson Road. A new building was completed at this site by 1925 and named Connell House after its benefactor.

Connell House, also popularly known as the Mariner's Club, was more than a congenial meeting point for sailors. Apart from the air-conditioned bedrooms, there were also a swimming pool, a bar, a billiard room, a library and a sprawling garden. During the Japanese Occupation, Connell House became the headquarters of the Japanese Merchant Marine, providing the same services, this time to the Japanese. At the end of war, Connell House was returned to the colonial government. In 1971, the government acquired Connell House and the Missions to Seamen had to relocate. Connell House was used as a temporary campus for the Singapore Polytechnic.

After Connell House
After the sale of Connell House to the government in 1971, the Missions to Seamen rented a building from the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) and when the lease to this building was terminated, the home was relocated to a room in a children's clinic. In October 1983, the Missions to Seamen officially opened its new home in a two-storey pre-war Chinese shophouse at 291 River Valley Road where it continued with its hospitality to Christian sailors on transit in Singapore. On 18 July 2002, the Singapore Branch of the Missions to Seamen changed its name to the Singapore Branch of the Mission to Seafarers. It sold the River Valley building in March 2002 and the Mission to Seafarers today operates a drop-in centre in Jurong Port called the The Mission to Seafarers' Care Centre while maintaining a main office in Telok Blangah.



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja & Nor-Afidah A Rahman



References 
Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1996). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 240). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 EDW)

Elias, R. (1994, May 5). Missions to Seamen a haven for those in need. The Business Times, Shipping Times, p. 1.

Yee, E. (2003, June 7). Mission statement; The owner of this period shophouse only began to appreciate its charm when he wanted to redo the interior. The Straits Times, Life!

National Heritage Board. (2002). Singapore: 100 historic places (p. 39). Singapore: Archipelago Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SIN)

Dolby, I. (2002). Ships and the web. Retrieved January 17, 2005, from http://www.seadolby.com/the_seafarer/history.html

getforme.com. (c1999, 2000). Government snippet. Retrieved October 16, 2004, from  www.getforme.com/previous120800_speakerscorner.htm

The Mission to Seafarers. (2003). What we do. Retrieved November 28, 2003, from
www.missiontoseafarers.org/menu_index.php?p=3&h=3&PHPSESSID=f87a733b765cd9b374571cf8c7c76128

National Archives of Singapore. (n.d.). Speech by the Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew at the opening of Singapore Polytechnic new campus at Dover Road on Saturday, 7 Jul 79. Retrieved October 16, 2004, from stars.nhb.gov.sg/data//pdfdoc/lky19790707.pdf 

Reith, G. M. (1892). Handbook to Singapore, with map, and a plan of the Botanical Gardens [Electronic version] (p. 59) . Singapore: The Singapore and Straits Printing Office. Retrieved February 11, 2006, from www.nlb.gov.sg

The Singapore Branch of The Mission To Seafarers. (2004). Our history. Retrieved October 15, 2004, from www.flyingangel.org.sg/


List of Images
Byfield, G. (2001). Singapore sketchbook (pp. 12-13). Singapore: Archipelago Press.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 BYF)

Gretchen, M. (2001). Pastel portraits: Singapore's architectural heritage (p. 66). Singapore: Singapore Coordinating Committee.
(Call no.: RSING 722.4095957 PAS)



The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we can 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>>Building Types>>Historic Buildings
Historic buildings--Singapore
Sailors--Singapore
Singapore--History--1867-1942
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings
People and communities>>Social groups and communities



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