Penang Free School and Church Square

I've always been very fascinated whenever I learn of a new source of really old Penang pictures on the Internet. I would always scour the website to see whether or not there are pictures of the St George's Church.

Actually, my interest is not in the church itself. Far from it, I'm more interested in some particular buildings beside the church  for these would be the first permanent buildings of Penang Free School: the first buildings before it moved to the double-storey structure that today fronts Farquhar Street and would be occupied later by Hutchings School and then Penang State Museum. The first Free School buildings in Church Square before the school moved to its present site in Green Lane.

There are numerous pictures of the old school building in Farquhar Street, and there are many more pictures of the present main Penang Free School building in Green Lane too. But it is very difficult to come across pictures of the original Penang Free School buildings in Church Square itself. I would always consider it a bonus if I can find part of the first Free School building in a picture of the St George's Church.

The latest art collection website that came to my awareness today is that of the Royal Collection Trust. The Trust looks after the Royal Collection, one of the most important art collections in the world, and manages the public opening of the official residences of Queen Elizabeth. The Trust holds several thousand pictures and among them are about 80-plus of old Penang. As luck would have it, there's a picture of the St George's Church in the collection.

Attributed to Kristen Feilberg (1839-1919) (photographer)

Elegant, isn't it, the church? The church has an octastyle portico and triangular pediment. Behind the pediment is a spire featuring a dark colour clock. But wait, what's that building in the background? The one with the white facade? It's a building that can be easily dismissed by the casual viewer of this picture. After all, its design was almost too simple, none of the grandeur of the church. However, it is to be noted that this was one of the first buildings of Penang Free School in Church Square, one of the five blocks built for the school and which were separated by verandahs. Here is a closer look. Impressive, isn't it? All the details preserved in a picture that's already more than 150 years old.

An update: The above picture is not new to me. I had seen it in 2015 or 2016 when I was researching for my book, Let the Aisles Proclaim. However, it was not used in the book. But it is good to see it again, especially when viewed in the greater context of the full Kristen Feilberg photograph.