St.
George's Church is a 19th-century Anglican church in the city of George Town in
Penang, Malaysia. It is the oldest purpose built Anglican church in South East
Asia and is within the jurisdiction of the Upper North Archedeaconry of the
Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia.
St
George's Church (built in 1816) is the oldest Anglican church in South East
Asia. After the British East India
Company took possession of the island of Penang in 1786, the spiritual care of
the colonists was effected by Church of England chaplains attached to the EIC.
Early religious services were held at the chapel of Fort Cornwallis and later
at the Court House located opposite the present church building.
Proposals
for the building of a permanent church were submitted as early as 1810 but was
only acted upon after the passing of the East India Company Act 1813 whereby
the EIC received a 20-year extension of its charter. Approval was obtained in
1815 to build the church based on the architectural plans drawn up by Major
Thomas Anburey but the church was eventually built on the plans drawn up by the
Governor of Prince of Wales Island (as Penang was known then), William Petrie,
and modified by Lieutenant Robert N. Smith of the Madras Engineers. Smith was a
colleague of Colonel James Lillyman Caldwell, the chief architect of St.
George's Cathedral in Madras, and the architecture of St. George's Church is
believed to be based on the cathedral itself.
Amongst
those consulted on the building of the church was the Rev. Robert Sparke
Hutchings, the Colonial Chaplain of Prince of Wales Island. Hutchings would
later be instrumental in setting up the Penang Free School. The building was
completed in 1818 while Hutchings was still away in Bengal and church services
were officiated by a Rev. Henderson. The church was consecrated on 11 May 1819
by the Bishop of Calcutta, Thomas Fanshawe Middleton.
The
first significant event that took place in the church after its completion was
the wedding of the Governor, William Edward Philips to Janet Bannerman, the
daughter of his predecessor, Colonel John Alexander Bannerman on 30 June 1818.
The
building was significantly damaged during the Japanese occupation of Malaya and
a lot of her interior fittings were looted. Services were not to be held in the
church until repairs concluded in 1948.
The
church is built with a combination of Neo-Classical, Georgian and English
Palladian architecture styles. Built entirely by Indian convict labour, it was
built of brick on a solid plastered stone base.
The
church features a portico of Doric columns. The original roof was flat but was
converted to a gable in 1864 as the original flat roof was found to be
unsuitable in the tropical climate. The apex of the roof is topped by an
octagonal shaped steeple.
A
memorial pavilion was erected in 1886 in memory of Sir Francis Light during the
centenary celebration of the founding of modern Penang.
On
6 July 2007, the church was declared one of the 50 National Treasures of
Malaysia by the Malaysian government. It underwent a major restoration in 2009.
