Project / Kellie’s Castle, Batu Gajah, Perak
Task / Desk & Field Research, Information Panels, Wayfinding & Signage
Client / Batu Gajah District Office & JKR Kinta
Year / 2013
In collaboration with FSquared (interior architecture)
Kellie’s Castle is one of Malaysia’s most intriguing architectural vestiges from the early 20th century. Construction of the mansion was halted upon Kellie-Smith’s sudden death in Lisbon in 1926 and has remained unfinished since then.
Our team conducted desk and field research into the history of the family and their abandoned mansion. We were able to reconstruct some of Kellie-Smith’s life and aspirations during his time in Malaya by drawing from various sources. These included the National Archives, the late architect Chen Voon Fee’s speculations on the architectural intent of the mansion, and interviews with experts and residents in Batu Gajah and Ipoh. The book Generations: The Story of Batu Gajah by Ho Tak Ming also provided invaluable information about that era.
Kellie’s Castle was scathingly labeled as ‘Agnes’ Palace’ by one of William Kellie-Smith’s contemptuous colonial peers to highlight the fact that his wife, Agnes, financed the building.
We learned that one of Kellie-Smith’s granddaughters, Frances Boston-Smith, visited the mansion a few years earlier. She donated photographs of Kellie’s first mansion, The Kellas House (situated beside Kellie’s Castle but bombed during the Japanese Occupation), to the Batu Gajah District Office. These images gave us insight into his eclectic taste in interior furnishings and collectables, which mirrored the rather odd mix of architectural styles* of Kellie’s Castle. As fate would have it, Kellie’s Castle later became known as Kellie’s Folly.
*Moorish Revival / Indo-Saracenic / Greco-Roman
The museum conservation department restored Kellie’s Castle around 2012. There has been public criticism of an odd stretch of white paint on the upper level of the façade, with many believing it to be part of the conservation effort while the rest of the building was left in its ‘natural’ state. However, an elderly man we interviewed distinctly remembered seeing the upper floors in white even as a child, when he would venture into the thick, jungle-like undergrowth to explore the castle with his neighbourhood friends. The most likely explanation is that Kellie-Smith had tested the lime-wash white paint on the building himself.
Typography
A study of typographic expression during the Colonial Malaya period revealed an astonishing variety of typefaces in use, literally ‘An Eclectic Mix of Styles’. Many of these typefaces are not available today in digital format, or as hot-metal type (at least in Malaysia).
We have taken some liberties and tried to emulate the period’s look in our information panels with the resources that were available to us. There was also the challenge of working with two languages in the headings, as sentences in Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) tended to be much longer than the English equivalent.
Kellie-Smith’s daughter, Helen, wrote a journal titled A Trip into the Wilderness & A Father’s Love. (Photo: The bright blue book in the second panel). She described her adventure through tropical storms and knee-deep mud, exploring Cameron Highlands when it was still undeveloped. The slim 10-page journal was printed by The Times of Malaya Press Ltd, Ipoh, and was donated to the Tourism Association of Perak by Kellie-Smith’s granddaughter.
Signage System
In accordance with the principles of building conservation, we mounted the information panels in the gallery using a cable-rod system, which minimised the impact on the building’s original material and structure.
We designed a simple signage system for visitors: directional and information signs that blend well with the building's material, using bronze plates with etched lettering. The signs will age gracefully.
We also installed prominent cautionary signs for public safety as the building was preserved in its original state—brick walls with rough surfaces and jagged corners and stairways and voids without safety railings.
Our scope of work for wayfinding and signage covered only the interior of the mansion resulting in inconsistencies between the interior and exterior signage design, which is regrettable.
FACTS vs Hearsay
Kellie’s Castle is replete with tales of romance, ghostly apparitions, and other mysteries told by the local community and the mansion’s caretaker. We had to differentiate fact from hearsay in the writing of the text for the sign panels, taking into account that these beliefs continue to exist very strongly among locals. For as long as one can remember, the Chinese have always referred to Kellie’s Castle as the ‘Ghost House’.
We have done careful research and cross-checked information for the gallery panels, with assistance from the National Archives and local resources. There were many conflicting information and speculations on the story of Kellie's Castle posted on the internet.
Interviews. Special thanks to
Dr. Ho Tak Ming, Author of ‘Generations The Story of Batu Gajah'
Encik Tajuddin Yaccob, Caretaker of Kellie's Castle for more than 8 years
Encik Hj Mohd Odzman bin Abd Kadir, President of the Perak Tourism Association
The townfolk of Batu Gajah, and others who have contributed their time to participate in the interviews