Exploring the Loke Mansion
Chatsworth House, Gurney Drive, 10250 Penang
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Loke Mansion is a handsome "arts-and-craft" heritage villa facing the sea on prime real estate in Gurney Drive, Penang. It is one of the heritage sites in Penang threatened by surrounding developments, so I am documenting it here so that everybody can get to appreciate its heritage value.
Loke Mansion was built by Alan Loke, the son of tycoon Loke Yew, around 1924-25. In keeping with the habit among the well-to-do at that time of building ostentatious homes and giving them English-sounding names, Loke Mansion was originally called Chatsworth. The northern seafront where it was located, which is today Gurney Drive, was then called North Beach.
For many years, Loke Mansion was occupied by Alan's brother Loke Wan Yat, who raised his family in its grand surrounding. After the family left Penang, Loke Mansion was left uninhabited, safe for its loyal caretaker who continued to maintain the building in as well a condition as could be expected. However, natural wear-and-tear manifested in the form of leaky roofs, broken gutters, and other general dilapidation. A restoration was carried out in 2003, after which it was rented out to an expatriate couple.
Loke Mansion, a seafront heritage property on Gurney Drive, Penang.
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