Bras Basah Road
Encyclopedia
Bras Basah Road is a one-way road
in Singapore
in the planning areas
of Museum
and Downtown Core
. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road
and Handy Road, at the ERP
gantry towards the Central Business District
, and ends at the junction of Nicoll Highway
and Raffles Boulevard which then becomes Raffles Boulevard. The road houses several landmarks including Fairmont Singapore, Raffles Hotel
, Singapore Art Museum
, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
and the Singapore Management University
. A MRT
station with the same name, known as Bras Basah MRT Station
is on the Circle Line
.
and Beach Road, it was called Church Street
because of the presence of the Missionary Society chapel
, which stood at the corner of North Bridge Road and Bras Basah Road. Between North Bridge Road and Selegie Hill, it was called Selegy Street. In the 1826 lease, the road was called Cross Road. Raffles suggested the name College Street, the most likely reason being Raffles Institution
was located in the area. Built by convict labour, the road appears on GD Coleman's 1836 Map of Singapore as Beras Basah, beras means harvested rice
with the husk
removed in Malay
, and basah means wet. The road was so-called as in the early days wet rice was laid to dry here on the channels
of the "fresh water stream" (now the Stamford Canal which has been mostly covered up). Another version is that before the area between Bras Basah Road and Stamford Road
was filled in, tons of rice were brought by boat
s into the lagoon
and spread to dry on the road. On one occasion, high tide
s wet the rice.
In the old days, the Chinese referred to the road by several names, including lau kha ku keng khau or "old mouth of the old jail", which is a reference to an old gaol between Stamford Road and Bras Basah Road, and kha ku means "fetters" in Hokkien
. Another name was a reference to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
located on this road which belonged the French
mission, the name is he lan xi li bai tang or "beside the French church"; tek kok seng long or "the German pharmacy", referring to the building which stood at a corner. Another name included hai ki ang neo tua oh pi or "beside the seaside English big school", referring to Raffles Institution. In Chinese
, it is known as hai gan hong mao da xue bian, or da shu guan bian (大书馆边), meaning beside the big school (RI). In Hakka, thong kwong sen kei, meaning "Thong Kwong Sen Street" after a Hakka-owned tailor
ing establishment on the road.
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in the planning areas
Urban planning areas in Singapore
Singapore is currently divided into 55 urban planning areas by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, organised into five regions. A Development Guide Plan is then drawn up for each planning area, providing for detailed planning guidelines for every individual plot of land throughout the country.The...
of Museum
Museum Planning Area
The Museum Planning Area is an urban planning area in the Central Region of Singapore. It is located in the area known as the Civic District. The area plays a "bridging role" between the Orchard Street area and the Downtown Core, which necessitates proper transport networks for vehicles,...
and Downtown Core
Downtown Core
The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...
. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...
and Handy Road, at the ERP
Electronic Road Pricing
The Electronic Road Pricing scheme is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system...
gantry towards the Central Business District
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, and ends at the junction of Nicoll Highway
Nicoll Highway
Nicoll Highway is a major arterial road in Singapore which links Kallang to the city. En route, it passes through the areas of Kallang, Kampong Glam and Marina Centre....
and Raffles Boulevard which then becomes Raffles Boulevard. The road houses several landmarks including Fairmont Singapore, Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore, and one of the world's most famous hotels. The hotel was established by the famous Armenian Sarkies Brothers. Opened in 1887, it was named after Singapore's founder Sir Stamford Raffles. Managed by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, it is...
, Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District and affords a welcome respite from the city....
and the Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University
The Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
. A MRT
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
The Mass Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system that forms the backbone of the railway system in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987 establishing itself as the second-oldest metro...
station with the same name, known as Bras Basah MRT Station
Bras Basah MRT Station
Bras Basah MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle Line in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. This station opened on 17 April 2010...
is on the Circle Line
Circle MRT Line
The Circle Line is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit line, operated by SMRT Corporation. This underground line is currently long with 28 stations and is fully automatically operated...
.
Etymology and history
The road had two names in Jacksons' 1822 Plan of Singapore. Between North Bridge RoadNorth Bridge Road
North Bridge Road is a road in Singapore north of Singapore River, that starts at the junction of Crawford Street and ends before Elgin Bridge, which the road becomes South Bridge Road. The road is one of the oldest roads in Singapore and was outlined in Raffles' 1822 Town Plan...
and Beach Road, it was called Church Street
Church Street
-Streets:* Church Street, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom* Church Street , New York City, New York, United States* Church Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia* Church Street , England, United Kingdom...
because of the presence of the Missionary Society chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, which stood at the corner of North Bridge Road and Bras Basah Road. Between North Bridge Road and Selegie Hill, it was called Selegy Street. In the 1826 lease, the road was called Cross Road. Raffles suggested the name College Street, the most likely reason being Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution , founded in 1823, is the oldest centre for pre-tertiary learning in Singapore. It is an independent school in Singapore providing secondary and pre-university education. RI consists of a boys-only secondary section , and a coeducational pre-university section...
was located in the area. Built by convict labour, the road appears on GD Coleman's 1836 Map of Singapore as Beras Basah, beras means harvested rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
with the husk
Husk
Husk in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. It often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective outer covering of a seed, fruit or vegetable...
removed in Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, and basah means wet. The road was so-called as in the early days wet rice was laid to dry here on the channels
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
of the "fresh water stream" (now the Stamford Canal which has been mostly covered up). Another version is that before the area between Bras Basah Road and Stamford Road
Stamford Road
Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street...
was filled in, tons of rice were brought by boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
s into the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
and spread to dry on the road. On one occasion, high tide
High Tide
High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...
s wet the rice.
In the old days, the Chinese referred to the road by several names, including lau kha ku keng khau or "old mouth of the old jail", which is a reference to an old gaol between Stamford Road and Bras Basah Road, and kha ku means "fetters" in Hokkien
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
. Another name was a reference to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District and affords a welcome respite from the city....
located on this road which belonged the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
mission, the name is he lan xi li bai tang or "beside the French church"; tek kok seng long or "the German pharmacy", referring to the building which stood at a corner. Another name included hai ki ang neo tua oh pi or "beside the seaside English big school", referring to Raffles Institution. In Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, it is known as hai gan hong mao da xue bian, or da shu guan bian (大书馆边), meaning beside the big school (RI). In Hakka, thong kwong sen kei, meaning "Thong Kwong Sen Street" after a Hakka-owned tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
ing establishment on the road.
Landmarks
These are the major landmarks along Bras Basah (from east to west):- The CathayThe CathayThe Cathay is a mixed-use 17-storey cinema, shopping mall and apartment building located at Handy Road and Mount Sophia in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. Owned and managed by Cathay Organisation, the building originally opened in 1939 as Cathay Building. In 2000, it closed for redevelopment...
- Rendezvous Hotel
- Singapore Management UniversitySingapore Management UniversityThe Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
- Former Saint Joseph's InstitutionFormer Saint Joseph's InstitutionThe Former Saint Joseph's Institution is a historic building in Singapore, located at Bras Basah Road in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...
(Singapore Art MuseumSingapore Art MuseumThe Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
) - Cathedral of the Good ShepherdCathedral of the Good ShepherdThe Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District and affords a welcome respite from the city....
- SMU Administration BuildingSingapore Management UniversityThe Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
- Carlton Hotel
- CHIJMESCHIJMESCHIJMES is a historic building complex in Singapore, which began life as a Catholic convent known as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus and convent quarters known as Caldwell House...
- Raffles CityRaffles CityRaffles City is a large complex located in the Civic District within the Downtown Core of the city-state of Singapore. Occupying an entire city block bounded by Stamford Road, Beach Road, Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road, it houses two hotels and an office tower over a podium which contains a...
and Fairmont Singapore - Civilian War MemorialCivilian War MemorialThe Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation, usually called the Civilian War Memorial is one of Singapore's most famous iconic landmarks of heritage....