Orchard Road Presbyterian Church’s main building put forth for conservation
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Orchard Road Presbyterian Church's main building (right) has been proposed for conservation.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
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- Orchard Road Presbyterian Church's main building, completed in 1878, is proposed for conservation by the URA, recognising its history and architecture.
- The church, founded in 1856, is undergoing additions and alterations, costing about $42.8 million, including Dunman Building redevelopment and sanctuary restoration.
- Worship services are temporarily relocated to Suntec City until November 2027; the church aims to provide modern amenities while honouring its legacy.
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SINGAPORE – The 148-year-old main building of Orchard Road Presbyterian Church, which houses the church’s sanctuary, has been put up for conservation.
Completed in 1878, it is the oldest building on the church’s site at 3 Orchard Road, which also houses a chapel that dates back to 1953, as well as the Dunman Building, which was built in 1985 and has offices, meeting rooms and classrooms.
The proposal to conserve the main building was published by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Jan 9, and comes amid an ongoing project to refresh the church’s compound.
In a note accompanying the proposal, URA said that the proposed conservation of the main building recognises the site’s longstanding history and architectural significance.
If the building is conserved, it cannot be demolished in the future, and future works to it will have to follow guidelines that safeguard its architecturally significant features.
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church was founded in 1856 to cater to the Scottish community in Singapore.
Its first worship service was held at the London Missionary Society’s chapel, located at the junction of North Bridge Road and Bras Basah Road.
According to the website of the church – which today sits on a freehold site of about 6,000 sq m in size – it was granted its present site in May 1865.
Worship services were moved to the main building after it was completed in November 1878 – a time when the church was known simply as the “Presbyterian Church”.
The main building has been extended several times, including in 1975, and restoration works were last conducted on it in 1985.
The church’s spokespersons, Mr Alvin Ooi and Mr Gabriel Tan, said the move to conserve the main building comes as the church celebrates its 170th anniversary in 2026 and “as we look towards building on our legacy of faith for future generations”.
In a statement to The Straits Times, Mr Ooi and Mr Tan, who are both church elders, noted that the building has witnessed many events in Singapore’s history. These include the Japanese Occupation, Konfrontasi and the development of Orchard Road.
They said the main building currently serves about 1,000 worshippers, including those from the church’s English and Indonesian congregations, a Chinese congregation under Providence Presbyterian Church, and the German-Speaking Protestant Congregation in Singapore.
Updates on the church’s website state that it moved its worship services to Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre in October 2025, in preparation for the project to refresh its Orchard Road premises. This arrangement is projected to last until November 2027, when the works are completed.
Under the project, which is subject to approvals from the authorities, restoration works will be carried out on the main building.
An artist’s impression of the church after refurbishment works, which will include a redeveloped Dunman Building (left).
PHOTO: FORMWERKZ ARCHITECTS
A rear slope in the church’s compound will also be strengthened, while the Dunman Building will be redeveloped, with the new five-storey building about 40 per cent larger than the existing one.
An extension to the church’s sanctuary named Tomlinson Hall, which was added to the church in 1920 and demolished in 2002, will also be rebuilt.
Mr Ooi and Mr Tan said that the works – which are estimated to cost about $42.8 million – will provide modern amenities for the young and old, and be in line with conservation guidelines provided by URA for the main building.
The main building has a set of Palladian windows under its dome.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Architectural conservator Yeo Kang Shua noted that the building was designed in the neo-classical style, and has features typical of 19th-century Italian neo-renaissance architecture, such as a set of Palladian windows – an arched window flanked by two rectangular windows – below its dome.
Having stood since the 1870s, he said, the main building is also historically significant as one of the oldest associated with the Presbyterian denomination in Singapore.
To date, Singapore has conserved more than 7,200 buildings and structures in over 100 areas.
