Suffolk House sat in grand proportions spread out resplendently on an extensive lawn, its walls awashed in the light at dusk. The spacious airy surroundings is made picturesque by canopied giant raintrees spreading its arabesque arms along the grassy banks of the Air Itam flowing beside this Anglo-Indian Garden mansion. 

Lights peeped from its colonnaded patio and the shuttered windows upstairs. A chandelier poised on the high ceiling, its glow mirrored on the marble floors.  Huge doors led to a colonnade area that opens to a rich earthy terracotta floor outside. Stepping out beyond onto the grass, I breathed in the cool evening air and in the quiet darkness, a cricket or two is having a chat. It feels like home.

And here I am, in the home that once belonged to Captain Francis Light, founder of Prince of Wales Island, later known as the British Settlement of Penang. Subsequent early governors of the East India Company occupied it. I imagined these very corridors and rooms as the setting for many historically and politically important events in evenings like this one. Its walls whispered the many discussions led by the ghosts of past governors speaking in quiet clipped tones from lips framed by a handsome moustache, discussing and determining the political and historical path that would shape early Penang.  It was also supposed that Sir Stamford Raffles’ convene discussions that led to the founding of Singapore.

The Historical And Cultural Significance Of Suffolk House Lies In Its Occupants And Its Architecture.

Francis Light named this place after the county in England where he was born. This Georgian inspired mansion built in the late 1700s is the considered the purest example of Anglo-Indian architecture outside of India.  It remains unsurpassed as the oldest, original and only surviving important Anglo-Indian architecture from the British colonial era. 

Its early visitors openly admired the stately beauty of this impressive home. Lord Mindo visiting in 1811 proclaimed it "...nearly the best and handsomest house ...".  It inspired the artist James Walten to pronounce it as "...a very splendid mansion, built in a mixed style of British and Indian architecture...". Suffolk House is fondly featured in numerous early paintings of Penang, the best acclaimed being that painted by Captain Robert Smith in 1818.

UNESCO Award

On 1st September, Suffolk House won the Award of Distinction at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards. This premise was handsomely aglow with lights from its quaint elegant lamps once again on the evening of 9 October 2009 for the presentation of the award attended distinguished guests, conservationists from around the world and surrounded by the people who loved and restored this grand old dame to its glory. Dr. Tim Curtis, Head of Culture Unit at UNESCO Bangkok office, cast in the glow of Light from antiquated lamps and standing on its handsome marble floor, presented the UNESCO Award of Distinction to the Chief Minister. Suffolk House emerged one of 14 winners among 45 entries from 13 countries in the region. The historic mansion was conferred the ‘Award of Distinction’ for its restoration.  

The official Jury Citation in relation to the award to Suffolk House reads as follows:

The restoration of Suffolk House has returned one of the most important colonial heritage landmarks in Penang to its former state of grandeur after years of neglect. The massively dilapidated building was restored to its 1812-1820 form in strict accordance with historic paintings and archaeological evidence uncovered after a meticulous process of research and investigation. Modern additions to the site have been handled in a sensitive manner while the period landscaping consolidates the historic setting of the building. The restoration works were carried out to a high level of technical competence and demonstrate standard-setting excellence in craftsmanship. The public-private enterprise in undertaking the project has renewed the building's historic role and serves as a worthy model for future restoration initiatives in thePenang World Heritage site.

The ceremony and dinner reception held in this elegant mansion was a fitting conclusion to the International Heritage Conference on Sustainable Cultural Developement.

At the end of the evening, standing alone in the stillness of the vast specious hall, I could hear conversations wafting from upstairs and the occasional scrapping of chairs against the floorboards.  And I could almost hear it. The timber floors upstairs, held up by tapered Tuscan columns echoed the running footsteps of young William Light.  William is the son of Captain Francis Light and his common law companion, Martina Rozells. Colonel William Light went on to found the city of Adelaide. The imposing statue of Francis Light, which was unveiled in 1939, is said to have been modeled on William’s looks. The statue today stands in the compound of Fort Cornwallis in George Town.

Note:  A fine dining restaurant will open in this venue at the end of the year. We can all look forward to reposing languidly with an arm over a chair and a cup of English tea, looking out to the same grassy banks along the river, under the shade of the giant rain trees, just as Light did.

Article by Lillian Tong

Photos by The Star and Penang Heritage Trust

Photography by Koh Tze Yin for Penang Passion