Flagstaff House

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Flagstaff House

旗杆屋

Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin:	Qí Gān Wū
- Wade-Giles:	Ch'i2 Kan1 Wu1
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping:	kei4 gon1 uk1
- IPA:	kʰeɪ₁₁ kɔn₅₅ ʊk₅₅

Museum of Tea Ware

Chinese:

茶具文物館

Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin:	Chá Jù Wén Wù Guǎn
- Wade-Giles:	Ch'a2 Chü4 Wen2 Wu4 Kuan3
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping:	caa4 geoi6 man4 mat6 gwun2
- IPA:	tsʰa₁₁ kɵy₂₂ mɐn₁₁ mɐt₂₂ kwʊn₃₅

The Flagstaff House is the oldest colonial-style building remaining in Hong Kong, China. It is located in 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Central - within the Hong Kong Park.

It has been a longtime residence of the Commander of the British forces in Hong Kong during colonial times. Today Flagstaff House houses the Museum of Tea Ware. The building is a popular place for Chinese wedding photographs.

1 History
2 Museum of Tea Ware
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Flagstaff House, which was called Headquarter House until 1932. There is some disagreement as to who designed it, but it was completed in 1846 and initially served as the military headquarters office and residence of the Commander of the British forces in Hong Kong.^[1] The site chosen was a small buff above the barracks and above Queen's Road, then at the waterfront.

The building was created in Greek revival style. Historians suspect it was designed either by Murdoch Bruce, a Scotsman who was inspector of buildings, or by Lieutenant Bernard Collinson of the Sappers.^[1] The first occupant was Major-General George Charles D'Aguilar, General Officer Commanding from 1844 to 1846 who also held the post of Lieutenant Governor.^[1]

The west and east wings were shelled when the Japanese invaded, and it suffered bomb damage. The Japanese repaired it and the Commandant took the building as his residence during the occupation.^[1]

After the war, Flagstaff House was again the Commander's residence until 1978, when the Commander moved to a purpose built house on Barker Road. It was handed over by the military to the civilian Hong Kong Government as part of the surrender of Victoria Barracks. The Government put it under the responsibility of the Urban Council in 1981.^[1]

The building was declared a monument in 1989. It was restored as far as possible to its original mid-19th-century appearance, structurally reinforced, and the interior was to be modified so that it could be used as a museum.^[1]

[edit] Museum of Tea Ware

In 1984, the Flagstaff House was converted into the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, a branch museum of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The museum specializes in the collection, study and display of teaware, including many examples of the Yixing teapot, from China's Jiangsu Province.

A new wing, the K.S. Lo Gallery, was added in 1995. It is named after a local collector, which made a donation to the city in the 1970s. This donation now constitutes the core of the museum's collection. The new gallery contains a collection of ceramics and Chinese seals.