Former French Mission Building

Coordinates: 22°16′45.75″N 114°9′34.71″E / 22.2793750°N 114.1596417°E / 22.2793750; 114.1596417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Former French Mission Building
前法國外方傳道會大樓
The Former French Mission Building in Central, Hong Kong.
Map
General information
Architectural styleNeo-Classical
LocationCentral
Address1 Battery Path
CountryHong Kong
Named forParis Foreign Missions Society
Completed1842
Opened1917
Renovated1870s
OwnerHong Kong Government
Design and construction
Architecture firmLeigh & Orange
DesignationsDeclared monument
Former French Mission Building
Hanyu Pinyin
Qián Fǎguó Wàifāng Chuándào Huì Dàlóu
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationChìhn faat gwok ngoih fōng chyùhn douh wúih daaih làuh
JyutpingCin4 faat3 gwok3 ngoi6 fong1 cyun4 dou6 wui5 daai6 lau4

The Former French Mission Building is a declared monument located on Government Hill at 1, Battery Path, Central, Hong Kong. It housed the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong from 1 July 1997 to 6 September 2015.[1]

Features

St. John's Cathedral
is visible on the left.

The building is built on a podium due to the hilly nature of Government Hill. Originally a mansion called Johnston House, the building was altered in the 1870s and 1880s to a three-storey building. The present three-storey building opened in 1917 as the result of a major renovation, also described as an "extensive rebuilding", of the previous structure.[2][3] The building is probably based on a previous structure near the site known as "Beaconsfield", but it is clad in red brick rather than an all white facade.[4] It is constructed in granite and red bricks in Neo-Classical style,[1] dating from the Edwardian period.[5]

History

Back of the Former French Mission Building.

The original structure on this site dated back to 1842.

Augustine Heard and Company, a trading firm that went bankrupt in 1876.[3] It was also used by HSBC and was home to the Russian Consulate in the 1870s.[7] The government then leased the building from 1879[7] and, by 1911, the Sanitary Board and Registrar-General's offices were located in the building.[8]

Entrance as the Court of Final Appeal (left).

In 1915, it was acquired by the Paris Foreign Missions Society, which commissioned a major renovation. The architects were Leigh & Orange.[9] In the process, a chapel topped by a cupola was added in the north-west corner, and the building was refaced with red bricks. It reopened in 1917 and became known as the "French Mission Building".[2][3] In 1953, it was sold back to the Hong Kong Government.[2]

From 23 August 1945 to April 1946 the building was used by the provisional Government of Hong Kong following the end of Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

When the

Society of Jesus were expelled from Canton in 1949, it moved its St. Ignatius Language School to Hong Kong where it was housed in the top floor of the building, together with accommodation for Joseph Mallin of the Society.[10]

It was then used successively by the

Old Supreme Court Building.[12]

Conservation

The building was declared a monument on September 14, 1989.[13] It was decided in 2011 that it would be made available for adaptive reuse after the relocation of the Court of Final Appeal to the Old Supreme Court Building.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Antiquities and Monuments Office: Former French Mission Building Archived 16 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau: 16 stories about Hong Kong-France relations
  3. ^
    ISBN 962-209-563-1
    .
  4. ^ Antiquities and Monuments Office: Central and Western Heritage Trail: Central Route Archived 13 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b discoverhongkong.com: Former French Mission Building Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ISBN 978-962-209-574-8
    .
  7. ^ a b "The Former French Mission Building - Brief History". Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  8. ^ Empson, Hal (1992). Mapping Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Government Information Services. p. Plate 3–4.
  9. ^ "From British Colonization to Japanese Invasion" (PDF). HKIA Journal (45: 50 years of Hong Kong Institute of Architects): 47. 30 May 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2012.
  10. ISBN 9789887771203
    .
  11. ^ Finance Committee - Public Works Subcommittee (Papers) 8 Nov 95: "Conversion of the French Mission Building into the Court of Final Appeal"
  12. ^ "Court of Final Appeal moves into former Legislative Council Building". 7 September 2015.
  13. ^ Environment Protection Department: List of Declared Monuments as on 1 January 1999 (archive)
  14. ^ Legislative Council Panel on Development: "Progress Report on Heritage Conservation Initiatives", 15 July 2011

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Former French Mission Building.
Preceded by
none
 Home of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
1843 – 1846 		Succeeded by
Caine Road (1846-?)
Preceded by
Established
 Home of the
Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong

1997 – 2015 		Succeeded by
Old Supreme Court Building

22°16′45.75″N 114°9′34.71″E / 22.2793750°N 114.1596417°E / 22.2793750; 114.1596417

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