Kellie’s Castle also known as Kellie’s Folly can be found near Batu Rajah – Jalan Gopeng and within 20 minutes drive from Ipoh, Perak. This unfinished, ruined mansion was built by a Scottish rubber planter, William Kellie Smith in 1915 to 1926 ( Unfinished ). Like the Taj Mahal, it was built with love from a husband to his daring lovely wife and as a gift to his newborn son. The Kellie’s castle was named after William’s mother, Kellie and his hometown in Scotland that is Easter Kellas.
The architectural styles : Because of his interest and fascination with Hindu religion and the Indian culture, he built this mansion with the art and styles of the Moorish Revival, Indo- Saracenic and Indian architectural styles. The Moorish arches and walls embellished with Greco-Roman designs. The bricks and tiles were even imported from India, as he wanted to share similar architecture to those of Madras. He even employed a big group of Indian and mostly from madras labourers to build his dream house, just to keep the Kellas House authentically Indian.
Special features : Kellie’s Castle has an elevator that connects from the ground floor to the top floor and it was the first elevator invented in Malaya that time. On the Second floor of this mansion, William Kellie Smith planned to build an indoor tennis court and on the top floor, there’s a rooftop courtyard for parties and events. This castle used to be the hub for entertaining wealthy colonial planters and administrators. A grand mansion with a six-storey tower. There’s also a wine cellar, stately columns.
Not only that, there are 4 tunnels built in this mansion which;
- Run under the river nearby the castle.
- One of them connects from the castle to the Hindu Temple.
- Believed to be the car parking area for William’s.
- Still remains a mystery.
The start of Kellie’s Castle In 1915, William also laid the foundation stone to the second mansion that proved to be his ultimate folly. This is also as a gift to show his love for his wife and for a welcome celebration of the new member in the family.
William planned to construct a huge castle and because of his interest of the Hindu religion, Indian culture and to share similar architectural to those of Madras, he imported all the bricks and tiles from India. He even employed Indian and Madras labourers to build his castle, so that the Kellas House remains authentically Indian style. Obstacles during constructions Unfortunately for dear William, World War I turn up and this had interfered the supply of materials and the manpower and so, the progression slowed up.
Hopes for no more interference, but that was just the beginning for William’s family hardship. A terrible disease that spreads from Europe to Asia known as the ‘Spanish flu’ killed many of William’s workers in the Kellas Estate. Roughly seventy workers that constructing William’s castle died because of the flu and the others were requested to immediately built a Hindu Temple for protection and some source mention that William built the temple to show appreciation for granting his wish for a son. Either way, the temple still stands up until now and there’s still people worshiping in it.
Also, he built a secret tunnel for his family to visit the temple from the castle. Because of his fondness of the Goddess that he even built a statue of him beside the Goddess. Therefore, a statue of a white man can be seen on the roof of the temple today, alongside with other statues of Hindu gods and goddesses. Even so, William had wasted a fortune on his castle because of this. In the end, William’s dream castle was never near to completion. The only thing that left is their first house, Kellas House, was the covered walkaway, an open courtyard and crumbling walls. espite of its unfinished construction, it was used as a setting in a film ‘Anna and the King’.
Why KELLIES CASTLE worth to conserved? KELLIES CASTLE has a great historical value which lasted for more than century carrying several of architecture styles from all over the world in one place ( INDIA, MOORISH, ROMAN, GREEK ) This castle has a great historical value which reflect a history of century ago of Malaysia, it became a tourist attraction that combine more than three architecture styles in one place (Indian, roman and Greek ) .
To keep this historical value alive it needs to have conservation in a way to do not loss the great features it has Now, the Kellie’s Castle is under the management of Malaysian Government as a tourist attraction and it is even popular among tourist now and then. William Kellie Smith The Kellie’s Castle KELLIES CASTLE has a great historical value which lasted for more than century carrying several of architecture styles from all over the world in one place ( INDIA, MOORISH, ROMAN, GREEK )
Taj Mahal is a perfect example of building that has been conserved The recognition of the Taj Mahal as a World Heritage site in 1982 has resulted in increased awareness and concern about the monument. The main mausoleum itself and the Taj complex in its entirety are in a fairly good state of preservation, but the history of repairs, restoration and other conservation actions taken to prevent its decay, reflects upon a wide spectrum of approaches, methods and practices engaged over a time span of about 350 years.
The earliest record of repairs to the main mausoleum is found in a letter, dated 1652 AD, where Aurangzeb points out cracks in the main dome, the four semi-domed portals, the four small domes, the four northern vestibules and the seven arched underground chambers, to his imperial father, Shah Jahan. repairs and maintenance of the Taj Mahal was established early in the 19th century by Lord Minto, and funds were initially obtained by selling the produce from the Taj gardens and later the income of the revenue villages attached to the Taj, were appropriated for the purpose.
A great deal of restoration was undertaken with the arrival of Lord Curzon, in the early twentieth century. He ordered the restoration of the entire complex with original material. the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in its endeavour to preserve the monument has tackled all the natural processes of deterioration. The nature of repairs carried out varies from the replacement of large marble slabs that have worn out, to replacement of tiny inlay pieces vandalised by tourists.
Sections of red sandstone that have orn out have been replaced with new stone matching the original in colour and design of the carving. Other recurring maintenance problems like leaking roofs are taken care of by the ASI. The main mausoleum, with its once pristine white surface is very vulnerable in its present urban context. Environmental pollution has long been known to be guilty of staining the spectacular white marble dome and minarets. Thanks to environmental advocacy over the past two decades, the threat of industrial pollution has receded slightly.
Hundreds of coal-burning factories have closed or converted to cleaner fuels. Conventional cars are banned within a 500-meter radius of the monument. Today, the Taj Mahal complex is overburdened with the influx of tourists. Uncontrolled crowds pose as much a danger to the monument as airborne pollution. With some 6,000 visitors tramping through each day, the paving stones suffer wear and tear. Wandering hands leave acid residues that corrode the marble. because of everlasting charm that the Taj will always remain one of the most popular world heritage monuments.
