Marshall Road
Singapore Infopedia
Background
Marshall Road, located in Katong, runs parallel to Ceylon Road and connects Pennefather Road to East Coast Road. After its junction with Fowlie Road, it becomes a one-way road leading away from East Coast Road. It was named in 1934 after Captain H. T. Marshall, the first Chairman of the Municipal Commission in 1856.1
History
The road was known as Lorong 201 East Coast before being renamed Marshall Road in 19342 after Captain H. T. Marshall, who was appointed the first Chairman of the Municipal Commission in 1856. Captain Marshall was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Superintendent of the Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation company Limited until 1859.3
Description
Along with Ceylon Road, Marshall Road defines the western boundary of Joo Chiat. The eastern part of Singapore was first opened up by European plantation owners in the 1820s.4 Although it is now a relatively quiet residential area, there were many street hawkers plying the street in the 19th and the early 20th centuries. The Joo Chiat area was predominantly inhabited by Eurasians, Europeans and Peranakans from the early days. Parts of Joo Chiat including Marshall Road had a significant Peranakan presence. There was a distinct Peranakan flavour as the road used to be lined with Peranakan-styled shophouses and terrace houses.5 Some of these two-storey shophouses still exist today.6 However, the number of Peranakans on this street has dwindled as many of them had moved to other parts of Singapore since the 1970s.7
St Hilda’s Church and Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple are adjacent to each other and flanked by Ceylon Road and Marshall Road with their main entrances facing Ceylon Road.8 The road is lined with Peranakan-styled houses and is also home and part art gallery to Cultural Medallion Recipient, Teo Eng Seng.9 Sadhu Vaswani Centre, a meeting place for North Indians particularly Sindhis, lights up each Deepavali to add to the vibrancy of this street.10
Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja
References
1. Peter K. G. Dunlop, Street Names of Singapore (Singapore: Who’s Who Publishing, 2000), 206. (Call no. RSING 959.57 DUN-[HIS])
2. “Identities for the Siglap Lorongs,” Straits Times, 8 March 1934, 19. (From NewspaperSG)
3. Dunlop, Street Names of Singapore, 206.
4. Lily Kong and T. C. Chang, Joo Chiat: A Living Legacy (Singapore: Joo Chiat Citizens’ Consultative Committee in association with National Archives of Singapore, 2001), 21. (Call no. RSING 959.57 KON-[HIS])
5. Eunice Low, et al., Life in Katong (Singapore: National Library Board, 2002), 4. (Call no. RCLOS 959.57 LIF-[HIS])
6. Norman Edwards and Peter Keys, Singapore: A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places (Singapore: Times Books International, 1988), 291. (Call no. RSING 915.957 EDW-[TRA])
7. Kong and Chang, Joo Chiat, 97.
8. Streetdirectory.com, Marshall Road (Secondary Road), map, accessed 16 June 2016.
9. Leong Weng Kam, “Home Is Where the Art Is,” Straits Times. 17 July 2008, 53. (From NewspaperSG)
10. Arti Mulchand, “(East) India Company,” Straits Times, 14 November 2001, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
The information in this article is valid as at May 2020 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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