Marine Lot 2 - 3 - 5 & 7 - Oldest still extant Marine Lots

Mon, 09/22/2014 - 22:02

Though these lots have been subdivided, they still retain their parent Marine Lot number.

Date picture taken
unknown

Comments

Hi Annelise,

The original lots would have run a short distance north from Queen's Rd Central to the shore. So ML 7 looks like it would have been in the sea when the lots were allocated. Any chance that one is in the wrong place?

Regards, David

I took a look at the Government website, and saw six records. They are just fragments of the original lot. One is over on Pedder Street, so I think ML 7 was wider than the box you've drawn.

Then I took a look at the 'Mapping Hong Kong' book for more about the original Marine Lots.

  • Plate 3-1a is dated 1842, and shows Marine Lots 1-10 running conseutively along the shore, and each about the same size. 
  • Plate 3-1b is dated 1843. The lots are already starting change shape as they are divided, but 1-10 are all still visible.
  • Plate 3-1c is dated 1856. ML 3 and ML 4 have apparently been combined into a single ML 3. There is still an ML 7 opposite D'Aguilar Street, though it appears to have been divided as it is narrower than the others.
  • By Plate 3-2, dated 1889, ML 7 is over on Des Voeux Road at roughly the location you've drawn above.

So the lot description "ML 7" was recycled at some point. Until now I'd believed that lot numbers were fixed to a single piece of land, and never re-used. Something new to know.

Regards, David