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| Traditional Chinese | 香港總督山頂別墅 | ||||||||
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Mountain Lodge was the former summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong on Victoria Peak on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The second building was a two-storey Renaissance style home and was demolished in 1946. The site is now the Victoria Peak Garden,a public park. The Gate Lodge,which originally served as living quarters for the keeper of Mountain Lodge,is still extant.
A military sanatorium was proposed and established by Governor Hercules Robinson (1859–1865). [1] A path was cut in December 1859 from what is now Robinson Road to the top of Victoria Peak, and the sanatorium was opened in the spring of 1862. It was well-built on the plateau below the flag-staff and 17 patients were sent there. However, the patients, like those in the rest of Hong Kong that year, did not improve and the military abandoned the site.
The site was then used for picnics until 1867 [2]
Granville and Matilda Sharp (after whom Matilda Hospital is named) who had long advocated the Peak as a healthy alternative to the lower levels, took a lease of the deserted sanatorium.
Governor MacDonnell (1866–1872), in 1867, purchased the building from the War Department and transformed it into the first Mountain Lodge—a bungalow to be built for the Governor's use. [3] He had noted that the temperature was 14 °F (7.8 °C) less than Central District in the summer. [4]
There were three main buildings at the first Mountain Lodge. The Lodge itself, faced toward Pok Fu Lam on one side, and the lawn on the other. Two smaller buildings, rather like large European-style cabins, and faced the lawn with their backs to the hillside. However, the lodge was severely damaged by a typhoon in the next year. [5]
In 1873, Governor Kennedy (1872–1877) ordered to refurbish and extend the lodge, but it was again destroyed by a typhoon in 1874.
James Russell, Chief Justice of the Hong Kong supreme court, applied for a lease on the property in 1875, but it was not granted.
Governor Hennessy (1877–1882) engaged in an umbrella fight with a judge at Mountain Lodge, and lost. Photos of two of three buildings on the site are at this reference. [6]
Sir William H. Marsh was Colonial Secretary and then the acting Governor, from 1879–1886. [7] His wife, Mrs. Marsh advertised "at homes" at Mountain Lodge.
In 1892, another typhoon did some damage. You can see photos of both the first and second incarnations of Mountain Lodge at this reference. [8]
In 1892, Governor Robinson (1891–1898) designated the Director of Public Works, Francis Cooper, to restore the lodge. But due to the deteriorating condition of the lodge, the restoration scheme was given up and the lodge was demolished in 1898. [8]
In 1892, the Gate Lodge was built is in Renaissance style. However, when Sir Henry Arthur Blake became governor, he did not like the proposals.
Instead, he appointed Palmer & Turner for another design. This second design was constructed in the Renaissance style of Scottish lodges and built between 1900 and 1902. The building was described by the media as the most imposing and handsome architecture on the Peak.
Governor Sir Francis Henry May and Lady May used it extensively and there are several photos of their family showing everyday life at Mountain Lodge 1910–1920. [9] Thomas Southorn also lived there with his wife, including during 1925–1936. [10]
Notes on the Photo: The lawn in front of the mansion is now the car park for the Victoria Peak Garden public park. The lawn on the lower left was the site of the first Mountain Lodge.
Sir Cecil Clementi had it refurnished for his use in 1925, and included a small safe. [11]
In 1932, it was proposed that the Governor have a house in Fanling, and plans were then made to abandon Mountain Lodge. [12] In 1938, it was proposed that both Government House and Mountain Lodge be abandoned, and a single home built at Magazine Gap.
The Second World War intervened.
The building, sometimes referred to as Former Mountain Lodge, no longer exists as it was demolished in 1946. [13] [14] The Gate Lodge and the granite foundations remain, however.
During the Peak improvement project in January 2007, pieces of wall, roof tiles and several in situ granite steps beneath the ground were found on the former Mountain Lodge site during pre-construction checks. They have been confirmed to be the original tiles and steps of the second Mountain Lodge. A report with photos showing the original tiles and steps is available online. [16] [17]
In 1969, the former Urban Council redeveloped the site as a park [18] (the current Victoria Peak Garden) with public facilities including a new pavilion, lighting and drainage systems, a car park, a kiosk and a public toilet at the west of the pavilion. The pavilion of the Garden was built upon the masonry platform of the former Mountain Lodge.
In 1979, a pair of stone lions, donated by businessman Mr. Chau Yau, was located at the northern entrance of the pavilion. Another pair of stone lions was donated by the Lions Club in the 1990s, which was placed at the southern entrance of the pavilion.
Three identical marking stones for the Lodge were rediscovered in 1978; since then, one of them has been placed at the northeast corner of the former lodge grounds. One of the three GOVERNORS RESIDENCE stones has been erected in a flowerbed close to the Government House, Mid-Levels since 1980.
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of 16,390 per square kilometre (42,400/sq mi), as of 2023. It is the second largest island in Hong Kong, with the largest being Lantau Island. Hong Kong Island forms one of the three areas of Hong Kong, with the other two being Kowloon and the New Territories.
Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of 552 metres (1,811 ft), it is the tallest hill on Hong Kong Island, and the 29th tallest in the territory of Hong Kong. It is a major tourist attraction offering views of Central, Victoria Harbour, Lamma Island and the surrounding islands.
Government House, located on Government Hill in Central, Hong Kong, is the official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. It was constructed in 1855 as a Colonial Renaissance-style building, but was significantly remodelled during the Japanese occupation, resulting in the current hybrid Japanese-neoclassical form.
The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and offers good views over the harbour and skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Operated since 1888, it was the first funicular railway in Asia.
The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is a Hong Kong watersports club for sailing and rowing including paddling.
Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to receive the highest level of protection. In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong as well as the publication of the notice on the Hong Kong Government Gazette.
The Tsing Shan Monastery, also known as Castle Peak Monastery, is situated at the foot of Castle Peak, near Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Parts of the monastery are listed as Grade I historic buildings, others are listed as Grade II historic buildings.
Sir Wilfrid Thomas Southorn, known as Tom, was a British colonial administrator, spending the large part of his career in Ceylon before serving as Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, then Governor of The Gambia.
Southorn Playground is a sports and recreational ground in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It comprises a football pitch, four basketball courts, and a children's playground.
Hennessy Road is a thoroughfare on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.
The Victoria Barracks were a barracks in the Admiralty area of Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The barracks were constructed between the 1840s and 1874, and situated within the area bounded by Cotton Tree Drive, Kennedy Road and Queensway. Together with Murray Barracks, Wellington Barracks and Admiralty Dock, the barracks formed a British military zone in Central. The barracks was named for Queen Victoria, monarch at the time of construction.
Victoria Peak Garden is a Victorian style garden near the summit of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. The former Mountain Lodge, an alternate residence for the Governor of Hong Kong, was located there, which has since been demolished, but the park remains as an attraction at the Peak. It is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Gate Lodge is a small house located at Mount Austin Road on Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Gate Lodge was built between 1900 and 1902. It is in Renaissance style.
Fanling Lodge is an official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, which serves as a country house and occasionally hosts official functions. Built in 1934 as a summer residence for the then Governor of Hong Kong, Fanling Lodge was granted a Grade I historic building status in 2014, amid concerns about its inclusion within a new town development plan.
The Central–Wan Chai Bypass is a 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) trunk road running between Sheung Wan and Fortress Hill on Hong Kong Island. The original design consists of a 2.3 km dual three-lane tunnel running under new reclamation areas provided by the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation project, and also connections to Connaught Road West flyover and Island Eastern Corridor. It substitutes Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, Gloucester Road and Victoria Park Road to be part of Route 4.
Leigh & Orange Ltd, founded in Hong Kong in 1874, is an international architectural and interior design practice. The group has a total of 550 staff and operates through its headquarters in Hong Kong with branch offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Fuzhou and Qatar.
Hong Kong's Peak District was original named the "Hill District". It included Mount Austin, Mount Gough, Mount Kellett and the area around Magazine Gap. Many homes were for summer use only, to escape the heat of Central, and were referred to as "bungalows". Over time, they were given names, especially when the bungalows were rebuilt in brick or stone as substantial mansions, allowing them to better withstand the damage from typhoons.
The Peak Lookout is a restaurant located in a heritage house at Victoria Gap, near the summit of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is housed in a 19th-century Grade II Historic Building. Originally known as the Old Peak Café, the restaurant has an open terrace overlooking Aberdeen, Pok Fu Lam Country Park and the South China Sea. The Peak Lookout at Terminal 1 of the Hong Kong International Airport opened in November 2012.
The Legislative Council Complex is the headquarters of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The complex plays a central role in the legislative process of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), and it has been a focal point for political events and public demonstrations.
Lugard Road is a road located on Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, named after Sir Frederick Lugard, Governor of Hong Kong from 1907 to 1912. Located some 400 metres (1,300 ft) above sea level, the road is a popular walking path that forms part of the Hong Kong Trail, and is known for spectacular vistas over Victoria Harbour.
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