The mysterious little house: understanding and interpreting the heritage significance of woodside

Abstract

During the author’s childhood days, she passed by a colonial red brick house every time she hiked up Mount Parker in Hong Kong. She wondered why such a beautiful yet dilapidated house stood so alone. It seemed to have no connection with its surrounding area, a very local district of Quarry Bay.

Later in life, when the author began to take on more interest in Hong Kong’s architectural heritage, she then realized that the red brick house, “Woodside” (「林邊屋」或「紅磚屋」), used to be the staff quarters of Butterfield & Swire, a company that contributed a great deal to the development of Quarry Bay.

Coincidentally, this company became the employer of the author, and this motivated the author to seek answers to her queries about the building, and reveal the stories behind this lonely building. Studying in the Architectural Conservation Programmes has provided the opportunity to put these answers on record, so that the public may access them in the future.

The research of this dissertation focuses on the history and stories of Woodside from its construction in 1922 until its handover to the government in the 1970s. Through researching and documenting facts related to Woodside, its values (aesthetic, historical, social, rarity and architectural) and significances will be identified.