European House #2, Cheung Chau [c.1907- ]

Submitted by Aldi on
Current condition
In use
Date completed
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)

The land lease for House #2, CCIL17, Kwun Yam Wan, took effect on July 1, 1898. It was granted by the British colonial government to build a missionary villa after the signing of the Hong Kong Extension Convention between the Qing and British Empires. 

The original building is believed to have been constructed between 1903 and 1907.  First, the heavy exterior walls of the centre were constructed and reinforced with buttresses.  Large blocks of granite, common in Cheung Chau, were cut into rough stone by local stonecutters. 

Still there today, the coursed squared masonry retains a simple and natural feel. The single-story floor is approximately five meters high. The house has a solid verandah with arched eaves at the front.

It stands on a hill with a steep approach path, close to the beach, with views over Kwun Yam Wan.

Four concrete dormitory bedrooms and storage rooms were added in the 1950s.

The house has a long history and operates today as the Bradbury Retreat Centre.  Its first forty years were closely linked to the Covenant Church's (Reformed Presbyterian) missionary work in China.  It is believed to have served missionaries and the church for over 110 years. 

Source:  Bradbury Retreat Centre

 

Later place(s) at this location
The Bradbury Retreat Centre, Cheung Chau. [c.1907- ]

Photos that show this Place

1933 Cheung Chau Bungalows
1933
1930s Cheung Chau
1930s
1963.5 HK Maps crop Kwun Yam Wan houses
1963
See more photos of this place

Comments

  • 1898: The land lease for Cheung Chau Inland Lot No. 17 (CCIL 17) is granted by the British colonial government after the Hong Kong Extension Convention between the Qing and British Empires. Ida M. Scott, Kate McBurney, (later BCMS) and Jean McBurney (Covenanter Church, North America), become the joint owners, serving as medical missionaries in Deqing and Luoding, South China.
  • 1903–1907: Construction of the original villa is completed, with local stonecutters using granite from Cheung Chau.
  • 1911–1912: The Xinhai Revolution brings turmoil in mainland China, leading Reverend Ernest and Mrs. Mitchell, and Dr. Jean McBurney to seek refuge at CCIL 17, and other missionaries such as Julius A. Kempf went to their villas. The villa becomes a hub for meetings, intelligence gathering, and annual church report preparation.
  • 1925: Official transfer of CCIL 17 to Reverend E C Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell, who continue using it as a vacation and support home for missionary families.
  • Dr Kate McBurney is posted to the BCMS Emmanuel Hospital, Nanning, for two years, to take over from Dr Lechmere Clift, who has moved to Hong Kong with his wife Winifred, following her illness.  McBurney, like the Clifts, joined the BCMS the previous year.  She had been unhappy with the turmoil in her previous posting in China.
  • Pre-1938: Pastor Frank T. Woodward and his family, Southern Baptist missionaries, frequently vacation in Cheung Chau. It is not certain if they resided specifically at CCIL 17.
  • 1938, September: Dr. Frank Woodard Scott, a Baptist missionary in Wuzhou, Xijiang, becomes the owner of CCIL 17 after the Mitchells.
  • 1949: The house is handed over to Rev. Arthur G. Lindquist, founding president of the Evangelical Theological Seminary.
  • Early 1950s: Missionary Doris Ekblad Olson and others reside at CCIL 17 to learn Chinese and serve local churches.
  • Four concrete dormitory bedrooms and storage rooms are added to the house.
  • 1954 & 1973: The lease for CCIL 17 is renewed as a charitable institution, supporting missionary and church communities. Infrastructure upgrades are documented in 1973.
  • 1956: Miss Yan Luyi purchases CCIL 17 as a trustee for the Presbyterian Church (USA) for use as a rest house for missionaries.
  • 1970: Management is transferred to the Hong Kong Synod of the Chinese Episcopal Church.
  • 1975–1998: Rev. Wendell P. Karsen, a missionary with the Reformed Church (USA), resides at the centre.
  • 1983: Ownership is transferred to the Hong Kong Christian Council and then to Hong Kong Christian Service. Major renovations are funded by the Bradbury Foundation, and the centre is renamed the Bradbury Retreat Centre.
  • Present: The centre accommodates theological students from mainland China attending Kin Tao Theological Seminary. It continues to serve as a site for theological education and spiritual formation on Cheung Chau.

 

Source:  Bradbury Retreat Centre

 

 

In the early 20th century, many missionaries from abroad used Hong Kong as a stopover on their way to mainland China. As it was uneconomical to return to their lands of origin to holiday every year, Cheung Chau became a favoured place to own property for vacation purposes, and the island saw a flurry of building activity in at this time.

Around 1938, Southern Baptist pastor Frank T. Woodward and his wife, Mabel, working in Wuzhou, Guangzhou, were regularly taking their annual vacations in Cheung Chau.

His impression of Cheung Chau was this: "Every year, I loved going to Cheung Chau Island near Hong Kong. We could relax in the small-town atmosphere or take a short trip to Hong Kong, an interesting city with many museums and shops. The boat left Cheung Chau early every morning and returned at 3:30 p.m. The beach was very lively in the afternoons. Our children loved the sand and water there. When my wife or I played with them, they would happily wade in the water."

After the war, relations between local Chinese and foreigners were good. Among them, Miss Doris Ekblad Olson, an Evangelical missionary to China, once stayed at House #2, CCIL 17. Her experience was of the friendliness of the Cheung Chau residents, as well as the fact that some missionaries would learn the Chinese language in Cheung Chau and serve in church on weekends. 

Rev. Szeto Fai, Superintendent of the Hong Kong and Macau District of the Chinese Methodist Church recuperated at Rev. Leung Kwai Man's residence: "...the church gave me leave, and I was able to recuperate at Rev. Leung Kwai Man's residence in Cheung Chau. It was spring, and the night-time sounds of frogs and insects harmonized with the sounds of my asthma, adding a particularly beautiful touch to the natural music. Over twenty years have passed, and God has preserved my health beyond compare. Not only has my asthma, which Chinese and Western doctors declared incurable, been cured, but my weight has also steadily increased, from a meager 103 pounds to 138 pounds." 

Source:  Bradbury Retreat Centre