From a nutmeg plantation to a military camp established in the mid-18th century, the region of Tanglin has transformed much throughout its history.
Intended for accommodation for the European troops, Colonel George Chancellor Collyer gave the approval for the construction of Tanglin Barracks in 1861.
The military camp consists of three main blocks (71 to 73) along Loewen Road. The design of the military barracks contains a mixture of colonial and local flavours, with huge roofs that provide good ventilation during hot and humid weather.
The government renovated and strengthened the structure of the large military barracks in 1934, but preserved the square pillars and their French roof tilings.
The Ministry of Defence and the Central Manpower Base were located here from 1972 to 1989. The camp has also previously housed important military facilities such as The Medical Classification Centre, Officers’ Personnel Centre, Naval Training Department and SAF Careers Centre.
By the early nineties, Tanglin Camp was decommissioned and handed over to the former Land Office before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took over in 2001.
After the former Land Office took over the camp, some parts of Tanglin were leased out to the private sector. Sensing a great potential in this region in 2006, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) came up with a lifestyle theme for this site, where wine, fine dining, education and arts businesses flourished together. It is now known as the Tanglin Village, which also includes the Dempsey Cluster and the Minden Cluster.
One of the exhibition sites of the Singapore Biennale 2006 was held at Tanglin Camp. Several art items, such as painting and artistic furniture, were displayed at the 71st to 73rd blocks of the military barracks.
Most of the roads in Tanglin were named after the military barracks’ commanding officers of the pre-independence era. Ridout, Lewin, Harding, Sherwood, Dempsey and Malcolm are some of the examples.
Like Seletar Camp and Portsdown, there are also many black and white colonial houses in Tanglin, especially in the Dempsey region. These houses were built in the 1920s mostly for the accommodation of the military officers and their families.
Published: 31 January 2011
Does anyone have any maps or photographs around 1955 – 57 of the long defunct Royal Signals Tape Relay Station complex & Sampan Cinema on what was then Barrack road, but is now Harding road. The only refererence left is the ” White Rabbit Restaurant ” which was formerly the Military Ebernezer Chapel. – . Amazingly neither the British Army nor the Singapore archives have proven very useful so far ! – Any information or suggestions will be gratefully accepted. – Best regards Derek Smith
Hi Derek, I’m not sure if there are any better alternatives than the ones you have mentioned (esp the Singapore Archives)…
perhaps you can make a trip to the National Library and see if they can source the items you want..
Hi, I would like to ask how could we get to the abandoned buildings as indicated on the top 4 pics of this article? Would really appreciate it if someone could indicate it on the map. Thank you!
Best,
John
Hi John, the location is at: http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_19752/travel_site_1/
GREAT! thank you!
excellent coverage of tanglin barracks. i wa based there , early 1962 to august 1963. great days
I was serving with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in Hong Kong and went to Tangling in 1969 for a 2 week judo course. As a corporal I was pit in charge of the class which consisted of about 50% Australians who were mostly twice my size not thrilled to see me in charge. After a bit of diplomacy on my part all was well – they were great lads.
Fond memories of Buguis Street, happy days!
I worked in the Ministry of Defence in the Dempsey cluster from 1974 to 1976, and again from 1979 to 1981. whilst the buildings were not efficiently functional, the open spaces and matured landscaping made the working environment extremely pleasant. the Tanglin Officers’ Mess situated in an enclave in the Minden area was a really nice place to unwind with duty-free Tiger beer after a hard day’s work and an evening jog. I have very fond memories of Tanglin barrcks.