Orchard Road is known for its constant evolution, with new malls and endless construction, but just off Grange Road lies a relic that’s frozen in time: the Chee Guan Chiang House. Also known as the Wellington House, the pre-World War II modernist Art Deco mansion at 25 Grange Road was built in 1938 and left abandoned.
Chee Guan Chiang House: designed for the son of OCBC’s first chairman
Image credit: Roots.sg
Completed in 1938, this sprawling bungalow on a quiet hill was built for Chee Guan Chiang, eldest son of OCBC’s first chairman, Chee Swee Cheng. The man behind the design? Ho Kwong Yew, the same architect who gave us the whimsical Haw Par Villa.
The “Wellington House” nickname was chosen as a symbol of wealth and good luck, with the “well” in “Wellington” sounding like “wealth”. This symbolism was carried through the home’s details, with a custom “WH” monogram featured as part of the iron railings along the property and on its grand staircase.
Spanning a jaw-dropping 100,000sqft, the compound was once valued at $425 million back in 2007. It was built with entertaining in mind: lavish parties, glittering social gatherings, and everything you’d expect from one of Singapore’s most prominent banking families. But fate intervened…Chee Guan Chiang suffered a stroke, and when the Japanese invaded in 1941, the family never moved in.
Interestingly enough, the property isn’t just home to one bungalow. Tucked within the grounds is a smaller sibling at 23 Grange Road, built in a similar style but with timber floors and concrete walls.
100,000sqft worth $425 million dollars
Image credit: Brian Beggerly on Flickr
Built in the modernist Art Deco style, the bungalow reflects distinctive characteristics of the 1930s modern architecture, from its rounded towers and extensive windows wrapped around the facades. It is the kind of architecture that immediately transports you back to pre-war Singapore, when sleek modernism was starting to leave its mark.
At the entrance, curved concrete beams frame the front for a dramatic entryway, and distinctive touches from the past remain, such as a pair of 2-storey stained glass windows.
Image credit: rh89 on Deviantart
The glass is tinted green, a practical feature meant to cool the interiors and reduce sunlight. Today, urban explorers note that this creates an eerie green glow inside the house, giving it an atmosphere that feels almost frozen in time.
Image credit: Brian Beggerly on Flickr
Despite this haunting effect, charming details can still be found around the home, such as glazed tile trimmings that adorn the walls, as well as terrazzo flooring found throughout the home. The latter was a popular material used in Singapore homes from the 1930s to 1950s, giving the house a distinctly period character.
Chee Guan Chiang House AKA the Wellington House today
Image adapted from: Google Street View
After World War II, the bungalow took on a new life as the New Leonie Guest House in the 1960s, though it was abandoned a few years later. The property was subsequently purchased by Lee Tat Development in 1973, but it has remained unused ever since, slowly falling into disrepair.
For the next 40 years, the compound lived in public memory due to its high-profile legal battles. The dispute stemmed from the road cutting through the property, which contractors for the neighbouring Grange Heights condominium had used during its construction. This spiralled into a decades-long fight over access rights, culminating in a 2018 court ruling that gave Lee Tat Development the right to close the road.
URA granted conservation status to the home on 23 May 2008, recognising its architectural significance in Singapore’s past and preventing the house from being demolished. Today, the road leading into the compound is gated and marked as private property, with warning signs to keep trespassers out.
Chee Guan Chiang House: an Orchard Road relic frozen in time
Image credit: Jeremy San for Docomomo
The Wellington House remains abandoned on a prime stretch of Orchard Road, hidden away from Singapore’s busiest shopping belt. With the last recorded price tagged at $425 million in 2007, one can only wonder how much the land might fetch in today’s property market.
While the house’s conservation status protects its architecture from demolition, it also makes its future uncertain. Restoring such a building would require significant resources, especially in its dilapidated state. For now, the house continues to stand as a relic of Singapore’s pre-WWII architecture, as a reminder of a very different Orchard Road from the past.
For more interesting house finds in Singapore:
- Stirling View’s Butterfly HDB Block has wing-like designs & features for extra airflow
- Did you know Potong Pasir top-floor HDBs hide secret 5.5m-high ceilings and slanted roofs?
- 12 HDBs with unique designs that look nothing like your cookie-cutter blocks
Cover image adapted from: Brian Beggerly on Flickr, rh89 on Deviantart
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