Murray House is a Victorian-era building in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Built in the present-day

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

of Central in 1846 as officers' quarters of the Murray Barracks,Antiquities and Monuments Offices – Old Site of Murray House
/ref> the building was moved to the south of

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

during the 2000s. This building has become an iconic landmark in Hong Kong. After housing the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, now in Stanley, it is now home to restaurants and shops.

Architecture

Murray House was one of the oldest surviving public buildings in Hong Kong. Similar to many of its contemporaries from the early

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

, it was designed in Neoclassical style. The heavy stone walls (with flat arched opening) are on the ground floor to give a sense of stability, while the lighter Doric and Ionic columns are on the floors above to allow better ventilation. All floors have

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

s on all sides in response to the local

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

monsoons A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

climate.

History

Early history

Murray House was built in 1846 as officers' quarters of the Murray Barracks during the early years of British rule. It was named after Sir George Murray, the British

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

at the time. The designer and constructor were Major

Edward Aldrich Colonel Edward Aldrich (30 December 1802 – 23 November 1857) was a British military engineer, architect and surveyor of the Corps of Royal Engineers who carried out the first detailed survey of Palestine together with John Symonds, RE. Car ...

and Lieutenant

Thomas Bernard Collinson Major General Thomas Bernard Collinson (17 November 1821 – 1 May 1902) was an English military engineer of the Corps of Royal Engineers who carried out the earliest British surveys of Hong Kong, and planned roads and other early military an ...

of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

Japanese occupation

During the 44-month

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. His surrender occurred after Batt ...

, the building was used as the command centre by the Japanese military police. It was also the execution place for some Chinese citizens.

Post-war period

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, several government departments used the building as offices, including the Rating and Valuation Department, starting in 1965. The building was believed to be haunted and was exorcised twice. One of the exorcism ceremonies was held in 1963, the other one was held in 1974 and was televised. Since it was a government building, the Government granted permission for the exorcism to be performed.

Move to Stanley

In 1982, the historical landmark was dismantled to yield to the new Bank of China Tower. Over 3,000 building blocks were labelled and catalogued for future restoration. In 1990, the Housing Department proposed the resurrection of the building in Stanley. The building was restored in 2001 and reopened in 2002. Originally classified as a Grade I building, the rebuilt House was not graded, as it was considered that the relocation project had failed to meet the international standard for heritage preservation.Heritage Preservation: Hong Kong and Overseas Experiences
p.16

Hong Kong Maritime Museum

The Hong Kong Maritime Museum was established on the ground floor of Murray House in 2005, then moved to Pier 8 in Central in February 2013.

References

External links

Video on its history
(large 7MB, direct download link)
Satellite view of the site
– building at centre of image. * Pictures of Murray House in its original location

* {{coord, 22.2182, 114.2097, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title 1846 establishments in Hong Kong Central, Hong Kong Stanley, Hong Kong Monuments and memorials in Hong Kong Tourist attractions in Hong Kong British colonial architecture in Hong Kong Government buildings completed in 1846 Neoclassical architecture in Hong Kong