Murray House is a Victorian-era building in Stanley,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. Built in the present-day

business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

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. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km2, . The island had a population of a ...

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, it was designed in

Classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...

style. The heavy stone walls (with flat arched opening) are on the ground floor to give a sense of stability, while the lighter

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

and Ionic columns are on the floors above to allow better ventilation. All floors have

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

s on all sides in response to the local

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

/ monsoons 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 Sir George Murray (6 February 1772 – 28 July 1846) was a British soldier and politician from Scotland. Background and education Murray was born in Perth, Scotland, the second son of Sir William Murray, of Ochtertyre, 5th Baronet (see Murr ...

, the British Master-General of the Ordnance at the time. The designer and constructor were Major Edward Aldrich and Lieutenant Thomas Bernard Collinson of the

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

Japanese occupation

During the 44-month Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 Buildings and structures in Hong Kong Central, Hong Kong Stanley, Hong Kong Monuments and memorials in Hong Kong Tourist attractions in Hong Kong British colonial architecture