European House #4 /IL10, the Davies House, Cheung Chau [????-????]

[Updated 18/Apr/2026]

A large, attractive and unusual looking house, built of locally quarried granite, flat roofed with a short verandah at the front, and a small cottage (for domestics?) at the rear. The house was built with its back to the sea views to the north.  It faced south, like most of the other European houses, with views of the island.

This was a Canton Villages Mission house, referred to as 'the Davies House'; thought to belong to Rev Herbert and Margaret Davies, who served the CVM in Canton in the 20s and 30s.

In 1939, American Free Church missionaries Gustaf Erickson and his wife, Ruth, arrived to help the Lindquists in the work at the Bible Institute in Canton, and they were residing in House #4 while doing two years language training at the language school on Cheung Chau.  In 1940 they were awaiting the birth of a baby. Daughter, Dorothy Ann was born on 24 November 1940.  They were still there when the Japanese invaded in 1941, so were interned on Stanley.

Like other CVM houses #9 and #10, the house suffered during the war as it was stripped of all wood by the locals for fuel and bombed by the Japanese as being western-owned.

Now it is the telephone exchange.  The building follows the orientation of the original house.