Kellie’s Castle
Words and photos by Jennee Grace Rubrico
In the outskirts of Perak’s capital city of Ipoh stands a stately remnant of Malaysia’s colonial past. Built on a hill and cut off on one side by a moat, the ruins of Kellie’s Castle, an unfinished mansion in Batu Gajah which was built by a wealthy Scotsman a century ago, bears silent witness to the passage of time.
The castle seems impenetrable to passersby. Red brick walls seem to protect secrets, and pillared windows with dome-shaped arches are eyes that watch intently.
The verdant grounds provide a warmth that offsets the somber ambience of the house, and the river that passes in front of the property is serene.
But even they reveal nothing.
It was a hot Saturday afternoon in May when we visited the castle, and the tourists—most of whom were foreigners – who flocked to the place that day attested to its draw.
How Kellie’s Castle came to be built is well-documented. A 20-year-old Scotsman, William Kellie Smith, had gone to what was then Malaya to seek his fortune in the 1890s. In 1909, Smith bought a 960-acre jungle in the Kinta district, which he turned into a rubber plantation. It was on one section of that land that he built his first home, where he lived with his English wife Agnes and daughter Helen. Five years later, when his son Anthony was born, Smith embarked on an ambitious plan to build a castle that would be connected to the old house. The castle ‑ which was to be built using marble from Italy, among other imported materials ‑ was to be remarkable in many ways, but in one most of all: it was to contain the first elevator in Malaya.
With 70 Indians under his employ, Smith started construction of the manor. It was set to be completed in 10 years, but a plague and other misfortunes kept delaying the work. When Smith was 59 years old, he went to Lisbon to fetch the elevator for his house. He never made it back, and the house was never completed.
After his death, Agnes sold all of their holdings in Malaya. Smith’s family never returned to the house that a century later remains standing and incomplete, waiting for its master.
Why the house was built is a mystery. Aqfast Enterprises, the company that now manages the property, conjectures that Smith intended for it to either be a gift to his wife, or a place to entertain wealthy guests.
The design of the castle, apart from the plan to install the country’s first elevator in the house, would support the theory that it was made to impress. The building follows colonial architecture, with dashes of Moorish influence. It is connected to the old house—also designed with dome-shaped windows —by the servants’ quarters. Between the two houses is a courtyard that’s big enough to hold an intimate party on a moonlit evening.
By the side entrance of the building is a staircase that leads to a cellar that could house a sizable wine collection. The property manager has also identified a room above the cellar that was to contain a bar.
The castle’s high ceilings seem to have been designed to hold chandeliers. The rooftop, meanwhile, is big enough to hold a tennis court and a party deck.
Some of the guest rooms have the best views, being located on the higher floors. They are also most conveniently situated, as they stand next to the elevator shaft.
Many of the rooms are bare. On the walls of some, though, are Greco-Roman finishings that give an indication of how they would have looked had they been completed. One can easily imagine works of art hanging on the solid walls, and windows, which must have looked out to the gardens or the rubber plantation, draped with colorful curtains or covered with screens that would nonetheless let the breeze in. The huge spaces allotted for bathrooms, meanwhile, obviously meant that they were to be luxurious nooks.
The property is so picturesque that it became one of the filming locations for the Jodie Foster-Chow Yun Fat movie, Anna and the King.
Yet, the romantic aura that the palace invokes does not resonate with the Smiths’ seeming concern about their safety. The family members’ bedrooms, located on the second floor, are connected to each other by secret passages that go through bathrooms. Each room also has a separate secret passage that leads to a hiding place. One of them leads to a dungeon directly below the room.
What were the Smiths afraid of?
Ghosts are said to haunt Kellie’s Castle. Among the reported sightings is of a girl who has been seen in the room that was to be Helen’s. Whether the ghost stories are true or not, though, Kellie’s Castle does haunt its visitors.
“Every time I come here, I think about how great the house could have been had it been completed. I think about how grand the rooms would have been, and what kind of visitors would have visited the house,” Waran, a native of Ipoh and a family friend, said as we toured the place.
“If it had been completed, it wouldn’t be such a mystery. But because it wasn’t, it leaves visitors with a lot of questions.”
Questions, such as: What would it have looked like? Why couldn’t it be completed? Why did Smith’s family abandon the house that he had tried so hard to erect? And, why did Smith build the second house?
Kellie’s Castle leaves a psychological mark that cannot be removed. It stands in silence to perpetuate the story of William Kellie Smith, unperturbed, as questions that burn in many a visitor’s mind long after leaving remain unanswered.
Words and photos by Jennee Grace Rubrico
In the outskirts of Perak’s capital city of Ipoh stands a stately remnant of Malaysia’s colonial past. Built on a hill and cut off on one side by a moat, the ruins of Kellie’s Castle, an unfinished mansion in Batu Gajah which was built by a wealthy Scotsman a century ago, bears silent witness to the passage of time.
The castle seems impenetrable to passersby. Red brick walls seem to protect secrets, and pillared windows with dome-shaped arches are eyes that watch intently.
The verdant grounds provide a warmth that offsets the somber ambience of the house, and the river that passes in front of the property is serene.
But even they reveal nothing.
It was a hot Saturday afternoon in May when we visited the castle, and the tourists—most of whom were foreigners – who flocked to the place that day attested to its draw.
How Kellie’s Castle came to be built is well-documented. A 20-year-old Scotsman, William Kellie Smith, had gone to what was then Malaya to seek his fortune in the 1890s. In 1909, Smith bought a 960-acre jungle in the Kinta district, which he turned into a rubber plantation. It was on one section of that land that he built his first home, where he lived with his English wife Agnes and daughter Helen. Five years later, when his son Anthony was born, Smith embarked on an ambitious plan to build a castle that would be connected to the old house. The castle ‑ which was to be built using marble from Italy, among other imported materials ‑ was to be remarkable in many ways, but in one most of all: it was to contain the first elevator in Malaya.
With 70 Indians under his employ, Smith started construction of the manor. It was set to be completed in 10 years, but a plague and other misfortunes kept delaying the work. When Smith was 59 years old, he went to Lisbon to fetch the elevator for his house. He never made it back, and the house was never completed.
After his death, Agnes sold all of their holdings in Malaya. Smith’s family never returned to the house that a century later remains standing and incomplete, waiting for its master.
Why the house was built is a mystery. Aqfast Enterprises, the company that now manages the property, conjectures that Smith intended for it to either be a gift to his wife, or a place to entertain wealthy guests.
The design of the castle, apart from the plan to install the country’s first elevator in the house, would support the theory that it was made to impress. The building follows colonial architecture, with dashes of Moorish influence. It is connected to the old house—also designed with dome-shaped windows —by the servants’ quarters. Between the two houses is a courtyard that’s big enough to hold an intimate party on a moonlit evening.
By the side entrance of the building is a staircase that leads to a cellar that could house a sizable wine collection. The property manager has also identified a room above the cellar that was to contain a bar.
The castle’s high ceilings seem to have been designed to hold chandeliers. The rooftop, meanwhile, is big enough to hold a tennis court and a party deck.
Some of the guest rooms have the best views, being located on the higher floors. They are also most conveniently situated, as they stand next to the elevator shaft.
Many of the rooms are bare. On the walls of some, though, are Greco-Roman finishings that give an indication of how they would have looked had they been completed. One can easily imagine works of art hanging on the solid walls, and windows, which must have looked out to the gardens or the rubber plantation, draped with colorful curtains or covered with screens that would nonetheless let the breeze in. The huge spaces allotted for bathrooms, meanwhile, obviously meant that they were to be luxurious nooks.
The property is so picturesque that it became one of the filming locations for the Jodie Foster-Chow Yun Fat movie, Anna and the King.
Yet, the romantic aura that the palace invokes does not resonate with the Smiths’ seeming concern about their safety. The family members’ bedrooms, located on the second floor, are connected to each other by secret passages that go through bathrooms. Each room also has a separate secret passage that leads to a hiding place. One of them leads to a dungeon directly below the room.
What were the Smiths afraid of?
Ghosts are said to haunt Kellie’s Castle. Among the reported sightings is of a girl who has been seen in the room that was to be Helen’s. Whether the ghost stories are true or not, though, Kellie’s Castle does haunt its visitors.
“Every time I come here, I think about how great the house could have been had it been completed. I think about how grand the rooms would have been, and what kind of visitors would have visited the house,” Waran, a native of Ipoh and a family friend, said as we toured the place.
“If it had been completed, it wouldn’t be such a mystery. But because it wasn’t, it leaves visitors with a lot of questions.”
Questions, such as: What would it have looked like? Why couldn’t it be completed? Why did Smith’s family abandon the house that he had tried so hard to erect? And, why did Smith build the second house?
Kellie’s Castle leaves a psychological mark that cannot be removed. It stands in silence to perpetuate the story of William Kellie Smith, unperturbed, as questions that burn in many a visitor’s mind long after leaving remain unanswered.
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