An old mansion undergoing renovation works at the town. Many of such houses are being converted to restaurants or hotels.
Tag: mansion
Penang Isle: Pinang Peranakan Mansion
Located at Church Street, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion (formerly known as Hai Kee Chan mansion) was originally the home of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, a very prominent figure in Penang. It is an unique heritage mansion built at the end of the 19th century with architectural influence from the Peranakans culture, also known as the Babas and Nyonyas. Though not a Baba himself, Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee incorporated the culture during the building of his mansion due its association with wealth and substance.
The Peranakans are a Chinese community adopting selected ways of the local Malays and later, the colonial British, hence, created a unique lifestyle and customs which had not only left behind a rich legacy of antiques but its cultural influences in Penang. The mansion cum museum is also the house to over 1,000 pieces of antiques and relics of the era as well as a testimony of that time’s eclectic design and architecture.
For more information, one can visit the official site of the mansion at http://www.pinangperanakanmansion.com.my/
Visiting Hours
Monday to Sunday including Public Holidays from 9:30 am to 5 pm
Admission Fee: MYR 10.00
Penang Isle: The Hill Side
Fruit and vegetable farms as well as old English mansions are spotted at the slopes of Penang’s hills.
Penang Isle: Suffolk House
Suffolk House refers to two early residences built on the same site located some four miles west of George Town, Penang, on the banks of the Air Itam River (Black Water River). The earliest of the two buildings is notable for serving as the residence of Francis Light, the founder of the British settlement on the Prince of Wales Island, commonly known as Penang Island. Following Light’s death in 1794, and with Penang becoming the fourth presidency of India in 1805, a newer Suffolk House replaced the original house, assuming multiple roles and was later neglected before its current restoration.
The mansion and the estate it was built on, the Suffolk Estate, is presumably named after Suffolk county in England. Light was born in Dallinghoo, Suffolk in East Anglia.
Website: http://www.suffolkhouse.com.my/
