Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church

Overlooking the Telok Ayer Park at the beginning of Telok Ayer Street, sits the Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church, which is also known as the Hokkien Church in its early years. The church is  one of the oldest churches in Singapore founded by Methodist missionary and medical doctor Dr Benjamin West in 1889. The three-storey building was completed in 1925. The church was declared a national monument on 23 March 1989 – its 100th year.

What is unique about this church is architecturally, it is different from the common churches we know of. The building’s design is an eclectic fusion of eastern and western elements. The doors and windows are similar to those found in Southeast Asia. It also features a distinctly Malayan walkway on the side that links it to the adjoining shophouses, with Byzantine-style columns and piers marked with crosses stand along the walkway. The church does not have the key ecclesiastical architectural features – it was not built along the traditional cruciform plan of most Western churches. Additionally, the main entrance is oriented west and not east-facing like most churches. The incorporation of Chinese and local elements in the architectural design helped the local Chinese community to identify with the building.