The All Saints' Church is a church in Taiping,

Larut, Matang and Selama District The Larut, Matang and Selama District is a district of Perak, Malaysia. Taiping (Malaysia), Taiping is the capital town of this district. Larut, Matang and Selama used to be three small different districts and they merged into one larger distri ...

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It was the first church in the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

, founded in 1886 (

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in 1887). Located on Taming Sari main road, the church sits in the outskirts of Taiping. The church features a timber facade and gothic architectural design, with a small adjacent cemetery. Its cemetery is laden with beautifully crafted tombstones of European settlers and young servicemen who did not make it home. It is considered one of

's precious heritage sites.

History

The history of the church can be traced from 1883 when Col.

R.S.F. Walker Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker (13 May 1850 – 16 May 1917), also known as R. S. F. Walker, was a prominent figure in Malaya during the British colonial era in the late 19th century. During his youth he was an amateur sport ...

presided over a meeting to arrange for funds to be collected to pay for the stipend of a clergyman. Designed by Australian architect G. A. Lefroy and built on a site donated by W.V. Drummond, a planter from Shanghai, the wooden church structure is made of meranti panels with hardwood frames, and a louvred tower with four tubular bells. All Saints' Church remains largely unchanged from the early days of its existence. Perhaps the most striking feature of the church is the

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window installed in 1911, which survived World War II intact. All Saints' is among only a handful of churches in Malaysia that still use the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

. It is only used on special occasions and the servicing alone costs about RM10,000 annually.

Developments

Over the years, the church has undergone some repair work with the most recent restoration effort including the replacement of its leaky roof with Berlian Shingle wood from

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

. The new roof is a replica of the original structure. A new multi-purpose hall was scheduled to be completed in 2008, with toilet facilities, administrative office, choir rooms, library, vicarage quarters and main hall that can accommodate about 350 people. The church is currently in the midst of setting up a network to locate relatives of those buried at the All Saints' cemetery.

References

{{Malaysian historical architectures and sites Churches completed in 1887 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Malaysia Tourist attractions in Perak Churches in Taiping, Perak 1886 establishments in British Malaya

History

Developments

See also

References