In the Beginning
“The structure must be neat, convenient, commodious, and elegant, such as would adorn the neighbourhood, and be suitable for that very admirable site which has already been allotted, and was long ago intended for the purpose.”
– Bishop Daniel Wilson’s 1834 address to the committee set up to build the first church.
Following the establishment of a British trading port settlement by Sir Stamford Raffles in January 1819, the population grew quickly, along with trade and economic activity. There was also a need to therefore regulate certain matters. To this end, Sir Stamford Raffles appointed and instructed the colony’s engineer, Lieutenant Philip Jackson, to draw up reconstruction plans in 1822.
Land was demarcated in a grid pattern for different residential ethnic groups, trade, and public activities. The Jackson Plan also included provisions for a church located in the heart of the civic district, along with government buildings and European homes.
Painting of an early view of St Andrew’s Church from the seafront with Government Hill, present-day Fort Canning in the background (National Archives of Singapore).
Initially, the Anglican community worshipped in a wooden and thatch roofed mission chapel located where Raffles Hotel is today. It was the Revd Fred J. Darrah, Chaplain for the Mission Chapel, who desired a proper house of worship. He convened a meeting on Monday, 6th October 1834, and sufficient funds were raised to start building a church on land allocated by Raffles ten years ago. A substantial portion of the initial funds was raised by the Scottish community. Hence, the church was named after Saint Andrew, one of the 12 Apostles of Christ and the patron saint of Scotland.
Some have noted that the present cathedral is not located “correctly” on the Jackson Plan. However, the plan was never intended to be a definitive representation of actual land use or the church’s location. A more accurate depiction appears in the map based on a later land survey carried out by G. D. Coleman, the architect of the first St Andrew’s Church.
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