The Old Supreme Court Building ( ms, Bangunan Mahkamah Agung Lama, ) is the former

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

of the

Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The ...

, before it moved out of the building and commenced operations in the new building on 20 June 2005. The building was the last structure in the style of

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 V ...

to be built in the former British colony. The building, together with the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, has been converted into

National Gallery Singapore ms, Galeri Kebangsaan Singapura ta, சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய கலைக்கூடம் , logo = National_Gallery_Singapore_logo.svg , image = Interior_of_the_National_Gallery_Singapore.jpg , caption = Interior of ...

which was opened in 2015.

History

Aerial panorama of Singapore's Downtown Core

On 1 April 1937, the original

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

of the Old Supreme Court Building, (then the biggest foundation stone in the whole of Malaya) was laid by the

Governor of the Straits Settlements The governor of the Straits Settlements was appointed by the British East India Company until 1867, when the Straits Settlements became a Crown colony. Thereafter the governor was appointed by the Colonial Office. The position existed from 1826 ...

, Sir Shenton Whitelegge Thomas. Buried beneath the stone, is a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

containing six Singaporean newspapers dated 31 March 1937, and a handful of coins of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

. The capsule is not due to be retrieved until the year 3000. The building was declared open on 3 August 1939 by Sir

Shenton Thomas Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas (10 October 1879 – 15 January 1962), commonly known as Sir Shenton Thomas, was a British colonial administrator most notable for his role as Governor of the Straits Settlements in Singapore. He served fr ...

and handed over to the Chief Justice, Sir

Percy McElwaine Sir Percy Alexander McElwaine KC (21 September 1884 – 24 October 1969) was a lawyer and judge who served, ''inter alia'', as Attorney General of Fiji and Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements. Early life McElwaine was born in Roscommon, Ir ...

, on the same day. The building was the site of war crime trials of members of the Japanese Imperial Army in 1946 after the World War II. The Old Supreme Court Building, together with the adjacent

, was converted into the

opened in 2015.

Architecture and design

AllegoryofJustice-OldSupremeCourtBuilding-Singapore-20071013

The Old Singapore Supreme Court building was designed by Frank Dorrington Ward. It was built in front of the

Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...

grounds between 1937 and 1939.

Notes

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History of Supreme Court

References

{{Authority control Government buildings in Singapore National monuments of Singapore Tourist attractions in Singapore Government buildings completed in 1939 Downtown Core (Singapore) Courthouses

History

Architecture and design

See also

Notes

References