Flagstaff House, built in 1846, is the oldest example of Western-style architecture remaining in Hong Kong.

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) is a Hong Kong government organization established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO ...

Declared Monuments in Hong Kong: Flagstaff House
It is located at 10

Cotton Tree Drive Cotton Tree Drive () is a road running from Central to Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The road is famous for the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry, a hotspot for marriage registration inside Hong Kong Park. It used to be known as ...

, Central – within the

Hong Kong Park Hong Kong Park is a public park next to Cotton Tree Drive in Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong. Built at a cost of Hong Kong dollar, HK$398 million and opened on 23 May 1991, it covers an area of and is an example of modern des ...

. It has been a longtime residence of the Commander of the British forces in Hong Kong during

colonial times The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colon ...

. Today Flagstaff House houses the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware.

History

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea ware Interior1 2012

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea ware Interior 2012

Flagstaff House had been named as Headquarter House until 1932.Eric Cavaliero
Proud house on a hill
, The Standard, 16 January 1997 The site chosen was a small bluff above the barracks and above Queen's Road, then at the waterfront. The building was designed in

Greek revival style Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

. Historians suspect it was designed either by Murdoch Bruce, a Scotsman who was inspector of buildings, or by Lieutenant Bernard Collinson 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 ...

. Construction was completed in 1846, and the first occupant was Major-General George Charles D'Aguilar, General Officer Commanding from 1844 to 1846, who also held the post of

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. The west and east wings were shelled during the Japanese invasion in the

Second World War 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 ...

; it also suffered bomb damage. The Japanese repaired it and the Commandant took the building as his residence during

the occupation ''The Occupation'' is a single-player adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019. The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over f ...

. After the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, Flagstaff House was again the Commander's residence until 1978, when the Commander moved to a purpose built house on Barker Road. It was handed over by the military to the civilian Hong Kong Government as part of the recovery of Victoria Barracks. The Government put it under the responsibility of the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

in 1981. The building was declared a monument in 1989. It was restored as far as possible to its original mid-19th-century appearance, structurally reinforced, and the interior was to be modified so that it could be used as a museum.

Museum of Tea Ware

In 1984, it was converted into the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, a branch museum of the

Hong Kong Museum of Art The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and one of the main art museums of Hong Kong, located in located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, near the Victoria Harbour waterfront, providing a scenic view of Hong Kong’s skyline. It is a publ ...

. The museum specialises in the collection, study and display of

teaware Teaware is a broad international spectrum of equipment used in the brewing and consumption of tea. Many components make up that spectrum, and vary greatly based upon the type of tea being prepared, and the culture, cultural setting in which it is ...

, including many samples of Yixing teapots, from

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

, China, as well as the world's oldest known extant teapot. A new wing, the K.S. Lo Gallery, was built and opened in 1995.K.S. Lo Collection of Tea Ware and Seals
/ref> It is named after local collector (and

Vitasoy Vitasoy () is a Hong Kong beverage company. It hosts a brand of beverages and desserts named '' Vita''. Founded in 1940, it now operates under the Vitasoy International Holdings Limited. Its headquarters are in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hon ...

founder Dr. Kwee Seong Lo), who made a donation to the city in the 1970s. This donation now constitutes the core of the museum's collection. The new gallery contains a collection of

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

and

Chinese seal In the Sinosphere, seals ( stamps) can be applied on objects to establish personal identification. They are commonly applied on items such as personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, and art. They are used similarly to signatures in th ...

References

External links

LCSD – Tea Museum
{{Authority control 1846 establishments in Hong Kong Art museums and galleries in Hong Kong Central, Hong Kong Declared monuments of Hong Kong Decorative arts museums in China Greek Revival houses Hong Kong Park Landmarks in Hong Kong Museums established in 1984 Official residences in Hong Kong Teaware Tea museums in China 19th-century architecture in Hong Kong Neoclassical architecture in Hong Kong

History

Museum of Tea Ware

See also

References

External links