CHIJMES

The Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus occupied this block from 1854, running an orphanage and a school, and the Gothic chapel built in 1904 with stained glass from Belgium was its centre. The convent moved out in 1983 and the complex was converted in the 1990s into a courtyard of restaurants and bars with the chapel as a function hall. The Gate of Hope on the Bras Basah side is where infants were left for the sisters to take in.

Background

The name is pronounced "chimes", and the complex stands at 30 Victoria Street in the Downtown Core. Its oldest part, Caldwell House, was designed by George Drumgoole Coleman and built in 1840-1841, and the convent later acquired it. An orphanage house was added in 1855, and a former hotel complex was taken over for the girls' school in 1933. Father Charles Benedict Nain was the architect of the 1904 chapel, now called CHIJMES Hall, and Swan & Maclaren designed the Saint Nicholas Girls' School blocks of 1951. Caldwell House and the chapel are both gazetted national monuments, and both now host weddings. The restoration for commercial use was completed in 1996.

Source: Wikipedia, "CHIJMES"

What to look for

• The chapel - a 1904 Gothic building with Belgian stained glass, now a function hall.
• The cloisters - the convent walkways round the courtyard, lined with restaurants.
• The Gate of Hope - the doorway where abandoned infants were left for the nuns.
• The courtyard - the enclosed dining space at the centre of the complex.

When to go

Year round; the courtyard runs into the evening and is at its best after dark. The chapel is often booked for events and closed. Weekends are busy.

Practical notes

The chapel is a private events venue and frequently inaccessible. The complex is a commercial dining development and reads as one. Prices in the restaurants are high.

Nearby

St Andrew's Cathedral is south, and the National Museum is west.

Key facts