CHIJMES Hall was the former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel located at the

CHIJMES CHIJMES (pronounced "''chimes''", acronym definition: ''Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Middle Education School'') is a historic building complex in Singapore, which began life as a Catholic convent known as the ''Convent of the Holy Infant J ...

complex in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The former

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

was designed by Father Charles Benedict Nain, it currently serves as a

function hall Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...

venue for weddings and corporate events.

History

The First

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

of the

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus The Sisters of the Infant Jesus, also known as the Dames of Saint Maur, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church originating from Paris, France and dedicated to teaching. History Origins In 1659 Barré, who was a respected scholar wi ...

was built and consecrated in Singapore on 1855 for the Town Convent. As the old dilapidating chapel had become hazardous, the

Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus The Sisters of the Infant Jesus, also known as the Dames of Saint Maur, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church originating from Paris, France and dedicated to teaching. History Origins In 1659 Barré, who was a respected scholar wit ...

had to celebrate

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

at the Caldwell House. They soon started

fund-raising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

by various means for the new chapel to replace the former.

Architecture

In 1898, Father

Charles Benedict Nain Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, an architect and priest of Church of Saints Peter and Paul, designed a new

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

chapel for the Convent. The architectural firm

Swan and Maclaren Swan & Maclaren Architects is a Singaporean architectural and industrial design firm. One of the oldest architectural firms in the country, it was formerly known as Swan & Maclaren and Swan & Lermit, and was one of the most prominent architect ...

would oversaw the construction of the chapel. The chapel's stained-glass windows imported from

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1904 were designed by Jules Dobbelaere. A five-storey

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

flanked by flying

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es marked the entrance to the chapel. The 648

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

s on the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s of the chapel and its corridors each bear a unique impression of tropical

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and birds.

Consecration

The new Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel was completed in 1903 and consecrated on 11 June 1904. The Entrance Gate pillars were later added to the front of the Chapel on the same year.

Deconsecration

In 1983, the

Singapore Government The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise o ...

had acquired the land from the Convent. The last

was held at the chapel on 3 November 1983 before it was deconsecrated for non-religious use.

Restoration

The

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 Apri ...

put up the site for sale in March 1990 and gazetted the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel and Caldwell House as national monuments on 26 October 1990, in order to preserve the ambience of the remaining buildings and designated the entire complex as a conservation area, with high restoration standards and strict usage guidelines. The remaining buildings, the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel, Caldwell House, and the remaining former school blocks underwent extensive restoration works in 1991 and reopened as a complex known as

in 1996. The former chapel has since been renamed to CHIJMES Hall. Its

is managed by the Watabe Singapore, and currently serves as a venue for wedding and corporate functions.

Gallery

File:WM_CHIJMES_entrance.jpg File:CHIJMES 8, Jan 06.JPG File:CHIJMES 7.JPG File:CHIJMES 7, Feb 06.JPG File:CHIJMES, Feb 06.JPG File:CHIJMES 4, Feb 06.JPG File:CHIJMES 2, Feb 06.JPG File:CHIJMES 3.JPG File:CHIJMES 10, Jan 06.JPG File:CHIJMES 11, Jan 06.JPG File:CHIJMES 13.JPG File:CHIJMES 15, Jan 06.JPG File:CHIJMES_16,_Jan_06.JPG File:CHIJMES 17.JPG File:CHIJMES_22.JPG File:CHIJMES 6.JPG File:Chijmes in Singapore.jpg File:Chijmes night z.JPG

In popular culture

The

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

scene in ''Crazy Rich Asians'' took place in this former chapel.

External links

CHIJMES website

References

{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Singapore Landmarks in Singapore National monuments of Singapore Religious buildings and structures completed in 1903 Downtown Core (Singapore) UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards winners