page_title: George Drumgoole Coleman
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: George Drumgoole Coleman / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: A plaque commemorating the architect George Drumgoole Coleman at the junction of Coleman Street and Hill Street outside Excelsior Shopping Centre, Singapore.
context_page_description: George Drumgoole Coleman, also known as George Drumgold Coleman, was an Irish civil architect who played an instrumental role in the design and construction of much of the civil infrastructure in early Singapore, after it was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. Only a few of his buildings have survived in Singapore, most notably Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, Maxwell's House, and Caldwell House.
context_section_description: In 1815, at the age of 19 years, he left Ireland for Calcutta, India, where he set up as an architect designing private houses for the merchants of Fort William. In 1819, he was invited, through his patron John Palmer, to build two churches in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. The churches were never built, but Coleman spent two years working in Java.
  Coleman then obtained an introduction to Sir Stamford Raffles from Palmer in Calcutta, and travelled to Singapore, arriving in June 1822. Coleman was responsible, as advisor to Raffles, for the draft layout of Singapore in 1822. He planned the centre of the town, created roads, and constructed many fine buildings. Coleman oversaw the works at the Christian Cemetery which was built on the slope of the hill on the late 1822. Raffles was away in Sumatra at the time, but Coleman also set about designing for him the Residency House of timber with a thatched roof. On his return, Raffles approved the house, construction of which was begun in November of the same year on Singapore Hill and completed in January 1823. Under John Crawfurd own expense, Coleman would later extended and redesigned the house for residence of Residents and Governors of Singapore. Raffles also commissioned Coleman to design a garrison church. However, the church was not built.
  In June 1823, Coleman left for Java where he spent his next two and a half years, and returned to Singapore in 1825 due to conflicts between the Dutch and native Javanese.  In 26 January 1826 he designed a large Palladian house for David Skene Napier, the first magistrate in Singapore, and a palatial building for the merchant John Argyle Maxwell, which before completion was leased to the government for use as a court house and government offices. Much altered and enlarged, it eventually formed part of the Parliament House of the Republic of Singapore. It was again in the Palladian manner, adapted to the tropical climate by incorporating a veranda and overhanging eaves to provide shade.
  In June 1827, Coleman was employed as a Revenue Surveyor, surveyed land titles which was issued mostly to cover shop-house lots in the town. In 1828, Coleman designed and built his own house which was completed in May 1829.
  In 1829, Coleman worked as a Topographical Surveyor which he surveyed in minute detail the islands that would form the new harbour of the port which included all the shoals, slopes and heights of the hills along the coast for the possible fortification of the harbour.  In 19 October 1833, Coleman was appointed the Superintendent of Public Works and Convicts. He was also the surveyor and overseer of convict labour. Coleman headed the constructions of the North Bridge Road and South Bridge Road from  1833 to 1835.
  In 1 October 1835. Coleman helped cofounded the establishment of the Singapore Free Press & Mercantile Advertiser newspaper with William Napier, Edward Boustead, and Walter Scott Lorrain.
  Although Coleman designed numerous private houses in Singapore, only two certain to be designed by Coleman have survived in Singapore, the Parliament House (originally Maxwell's house, but has undergone considerable changes since), and Caldwell House, currently part of CHIJMES on Victoria Street.  Another residence building, the Istana Kampong Glam, is believed to be by Coleman although there is no definite evidence.
  An outstanding example of his work that survives to this day is the Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator on Hill Street, built in 1835. He also built the first Anglican church in Singapore, St Andrew's, which was begun in 1835, but this structure was demolished in the 1850s having become unsafe due to lightning strikes.  He was also hired to finish and extend the Raffles Institution, originally designed by Lieutenant Phillip.  The building however was demolished in 1972.  Another prominent building of early Singapore designed by Coleman was the Telok Ayer market on the waterfront built in 1835.  It was demolished due to land reclamation work in 1879 and the market was then moved to the present Lau Pa Sat, which retai
caption: A plaque commemorating Coleman at the junction of Coleman Street and Hill Street outside Excelsior Shopping Centre
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