Introduction
Recently, some photos of houses on Barker Road were posted on Gwulo. I had the idea of creating a timeline for Barker Road Houses (35 – 45). This spans more than 120 years and might be of some interest.
Today, we have five houses on Barker Road between the Barker Road Tram Station and Richmond House (31 Barker Road). When the construction of houses started in the first decade of the 20th century, there were fewer houses in the beginning. It is a bit difficult to create a timeline for these houses because of the lack of reliable information. The peak maps for 1912 and 1924 on Gwulo are not really exact and require some speculation. Additionally, the old buildings in the west (today’s numbers 45 and 43) cannot be seen easily from Victoria Gap, and therefore they are not visible on most photos from the early 20th century.
General Overview
Maps showing the lots are always very helpful. To get an impression of the construction, demolition and reconstruction dates of the houses, three maps from 1924, 1958, and 2025 are shown below.
Barker Road was completed and opened for traffic in 1898. Soon after, the Government started land auctions to allow the construction of buildings.
In the early years, three lots were sold (or actually leased for 75 years), which are (Rural Building Lots) R.B.L. 97, R.B.L. 125, and R.B.L. 121. The respective building numbers were 452, 453, and 454 The Peak. In c.1923, a fourth building was constructed. Its address was 455 The Peak (see 1924 map), the lot number (not shown on this 1924 map, but labeled on the 1924 map on Gwulo) is R.B.L. 150.
A photo from c.1925 shows the four houses just mentioned (annotated with their respective house numbers).
Another photo from this time is shown below:
This photo shows the three houses, 454, 453, and 452 The Peak. (455 The Peak is either not constructed yet or cannot be seen from this point). (Richmond House on the left).
The 1934 aerial photograph (1934-03-26) shows four houses (455 The Peak (on the right in this photo) can be seen in this perspective):
Unfortunately, the photo isn't very clear, but it shows only four buildings; Villa Blanca hasn't been built yet.
Between 1934 and 1938, a second building was constructed on R.B.L. 97, the lot was possibly divided. The 1938 street index shows the following buildings:
The new house only had the name “R.B.L. 97” with the address 449 The Peak. Five buildings are shown on the 1958 map as well as on the 2025 map, all of them have been reconstructed in past years.
The early years are reflected in the table below.
| Barker Road no. today | RBL (1924) | RBL today | House no. pre-1924 The Peak | House no. 1938 The Peak | Old name of the building (c. 1900 – c. 1940) | Construction date of the first buildings |
| 45 | - | 544 | - | 449 | RBL 97 | 1930s |
| 43 | 97 | 1001 | 142 | 452 | The Cottage | 1901 |
| 41 | 125 | 862 | 143 | 453 | Tai Wo/Capsuimun | ? |
| 37 | 121 | 863 | 144 | 454 | Tantallon | 1906 |
| 35 | 150 | 1019 RP | 144A | 455 | 455 The Peak/ Mirador | 1923 |
A photo from the early 1950s (455 The Peak cannot be seen from this point) shows four houses: 454, 453, 452, and 449 The Peak.
Note: The house 452 The Peak has been rebuilt (see entry below).
Details of the houses on Barker Road
In this chapter, a detailed timeline of the houses is given, depending on the availability of information. The order follows the respective lots.
R.B.L. 97
The Cottage [c.1901-c.1946] | Gwulo.
Address: 452 The Peak, later 43 Barker Road
This lot was put up for Government auction on 8th May 1899 with a requirement for the buyer to build a substantial building within 1 1/2 years (Government Notification 249/1899). (source)
The site was first leased to Mollers’ Lands Limited for a period of 75 years in 1899, and the lease was extended by a further 75 years in 1974 (source)
The first resident was E.A. Ram (Peak Directory for 1901).
I think that The Cottage is the second white house from the left in the photo below:
The Cottage was a comparatively small house. h9430500 recently posted a photo taken from 35 Barker Road. He mentioned Haking Mansion and I asked him about this building. He replied: Haking family members were very kind to me, I had meals in the Villa Blanca, it was no.47 and no.43 then which consist of 2 lots, the Villa and a multi storey apartment.
It sounds to me that a new house was constructed in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
452 The Peak (second generation) [c.1950-c.1998]
The predecessor was likely looted during WW2. A new house was constructed after the war, the date is guessed to be 1950. The house was likely constructed and owned by Moller’s company.
It can be seen in a 1963 aerial photograph below:
It was sold in the early 1960s to Mr. Haking Wong (黃克競), a famous industrialist of Hong Kong.
The building was demolished c. 1998 and replaced by Haking Mansion.
Building at 43 Barker Road.
Address: 449 The Peak, later 47 Barker Road
Between 1934 and 1938, another building was constructed west of The Cottage. [The house is not yet there in the 1934 aerial photo shown above] It is unknown to me if the owner was the same as for The Cottage or an independent owner. The proximity of both buildings might support the first assumption.
These two buildings stood there until the beginning of the Japanese invasion in 1941. Most houses on the peak were looted, so it is unclear if the houses were repaired or rebuilt. It looks to me as if Villa Blanca survived and only had to be repaired.
The building was demolished in 2016.
The house has one block, providing 2 residential units. Villa Blanca was confirmed as Grade 2 Historic Building in September 2010. Possibly for this reason, the partial facade of the original house was maintained at 1/F.
R.B.L. 125
Capsuimun / Tai Wo, Barker Road [????-????]
Address: 453 The Peak, later 41 Barker Road
A two-story house, likely built around 1910.
There is little known about this building. It was likely looted during WW 2, but possibly only repaired and not rebuilt. Pre- and post-was photos (unfortunately a bit blurry) give the impression of the same building. If rebuilt, the house would be reconstructed in a very similar way.
The building is shown with the number 453 in the photo below.
There is another building between numbers 453 and 452. I don't think this is a building for residents but a garage or servants' quarters. Any better ideas are welcome.
The building was demolished in the late 1960s.
41 Barker Road (Barker Villa) [1974- ] | Gwulo
Barker Villa has 6 floors with 12 units.
R.B.L. 121
Tantallon - RBL 121 - Barker Road [1906-????]
Address: 454 The Peak, later 37 Barker Road
Two-story house, likely built in 1906. The first entry is in the Juror’s list from 1907:
Douglas, James Tory. Tantallon Barker Road The Peak
There is little known about this building. It was likely looted during WW 2, but possibly only repaired and not rebuilt. Pre- and post-was photos (unfortunately a bit blurry) give the impression of the same building. If rebuilt, the house would be reconstructed in a very similar way.
The building is shown with the number 454 in the photo below.
The building was demolished c. 1980-82.
Six-storey building with 12 units. It is the building on the right of the building under construction in the photo below:
Was demolished in 2022-23.
37 Barker Road (second generation) [2025- ]
Construction of a new building started at the end of 2025.
R.B.L. 150
455 The Peak, R.B.L. 150 [c.1923-c.1978] | Gwulo
Address: 455 The Peak, later 35 Barker Road
RBL 150 was put up for public auction on 23 August 1920, described as “East of RBL 12, Barker Road” (GG S 196/1920).
The building was likely finished in 1923. The first owner was Felix Maurice Ellis (source).
The 1938 street index gives the house’s name as “Mirador”. Mirador is a Spanish word meaning balcony or lookout —both terms that aptly describe the house’s location.
The property was sold in 1948 to Jean Baptiste Ipekdjian, a Diamond Merchant. The building was demolished shortly afterwards and a new one was constructed. (source)
455 The Peak, R.B.L. 150 (second generation) [c.1952-1978] | Gwulo
The new owner, Jean Baptiste Ipekdjian, built a new house on the lot in 1950-53.
The floor plan of both houses looks more or less unchanged, but the houses are different.
Next owners were George Falconer and Co in 1963, and Paraluz Co. Ltd. (change of name to Central Development Ltd) in 1973. In 1977 the lot was surrendered to the Crown (end of the 75-year lease); a new lot number was given: R.B.L. 1018.
Falconridge - 35 Barker Road [1981-2011] | Gwulo
A five-storey building constructed on the elevated platform where 455 The Peak stood.
The building was demolished in 2011.
35 Barker Road [2018- ] | Gwulo
After almost six years of construction work, the next generation building was finished. It is now much closer to Barker Road and has three houses on a massive platform.
It is the large white building in the center of the photo below.
A remark regarding this building:
The three-home mansion at 35 Barker Road at The Peak, held by Henderson Land Development’s late founder Lee Shau-kee's family, remains Hong Kong’s most expensive ultra-luxury home for the sixth consecutive year, official data showed.
The latest rateable value of the property stayed unchanged at HK$25.6 million, according to the 2026-27 Valuation List and Government Rent Roll. (https://www.thestandard.com.hk/property/article/326791/)
Closing remark
Four (later five) lots on Barker Road saw 14 buildings in 120 years.
The timeline was created to the best of my knowledge. Comments are welcome.
Excellent idea to create…
Excellent idea to create this Timeline because it makes the historical collection of Barker Road houses neat and tidy.