Honourable Mansion: The Invisible Hands Behind Singapore’s Last Traditional Teochew House

In the heart of Singapore, just off Orchard Road, the House of Tan Yeok Nee stands as the last surviving traditional Teochew courtyard mansion in the city-state. This rare architectural relic offers a tangible link to the values, aspirations, and craftsmanship of Singapore’s early Chinese communities. Built in the late nineteenth century by Tan Yeok Nee, a wealthy Teochew merchant with close ties to the Johor royal court, the house has served many roles: private residence, girls’ home, religious institution, and restored heritage landmark. Its physical fabric has retained a remarkable degree of authenticity despite these transitions. This book traces the house’s evolution through detailed analysis of its architectural form, restoration history, and social context, emphasizing the importance of material culture and architectural history as sources of historical insight. By closely examining the building’s structure, ornamentation, and adaptations over time, it demonstrates how the house serves as heritage and as an architectural palimpsest, offering an alternative lens on Singapore’s past rooted in built space. The work appeals to general readers, heritage professionals, and scholars interested in architecture, conservation, and Southeast Asian history. It highlights the house as more than a national monument, but a vessel of memory, witness to change, and part of Singapore’s cultural legacy.