Bishop's House, Hong Kong, Religious residence in Central and Western District, Hong Kong
The Bishop's House at 1 Lower Albert Road is a mostly two-storey brick building with red and white paintwork and classical elements. Its left section has a flat roofline and rectangular windows; the right side ends in a polygonal tower with a pointed roof and cross-shaped details. A central bay with stacked tall windows and a small balcony projects slightly, and a black metal fence runs above a low wall in front. The St. Paul's College Chapel with a small tower adjoins the north corner.
The house's origins date from 1843, when Vincent Stanton was appointed Colonial Chaplain of Hong Kong; the building was completed in 1848. It was first designed as a school for Chinese students and long housed St Paul's College. When the Diocese of Victoria was created, Stanton handed the college property to the new bishop, George Smith. The interior was fully renovated in 1967–1968, and the building is listed as a Grade I historic building.
The house takes its Chinese name Wuidufu (會督府) from the title of the Anglican bishop, and it stands within a compound of diocesan buildings on Lower Albert Road that also holds the Sheng Kung Hui archives, Ming Hua Theological College, Ridley House, Alford House and St Paul's Church. The St Paul's College Chapel, also called the Bishop's Chapel, is built onto the north corner with a small tower.
The house stands at 1 Lower Albert Road, in a bend of the road below Upper Albert Road, west of Glenealy Road. It shares its compound with other Anglican diocesan buildings, including St Paul's Church, Ridley House and the Ming Hua Theological College, and the Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association building adjoins the compound to the east. The black metal fence above the low wall along the front lets you see the cream facade, the projecting central bay and the polygonal corner tower from the street.
The building began as a school for Chinese students, not a residence: it housed St Paul's College from its completion in 1848 until Vincent Stanton handed the property to Bishop George Smith when the Diocese of Victoria was created. The St. Paul's College Chapel, with its small tower, is attached at the north corner.
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