Emerald Hill (Chinese: 翡翠山) is a neighbourhood and a conservation area in Singapore. Former home to many members of the city-state's wealthy Peranakan community, it is located near Orchard Road. Many of its homes feature Chinese Baroque architecture. Emerald Hill is also the setting for some of the short stories by the late Singaporean author Goh Sin Tub.
Etymology and history
The Emerald Hill area was originally owned by William Cuppage, a postal clerk who rose to become the acting Postmaster General in the 1840s. Cuppage first leased Emerald Hill in 1837 and in 1845 secured a permanent grant for his nutmeg plantation, which failed in the 1860s because of disease.
Cuppage himself moved from his residence in Hill Street to Emerald Hill in the early 1850s and lived in the area till his death in 1872. Here he built two houses (Erin Lodge and Fern Cottage) where he lived. After his death, Cuppage's plantation was left to his daughters and in 1890 it was sold to one of his sons-in-law, the lawyer Edwin Koek.
Koek turned the area into an orchard and built another house on the estate, called Claregrove. Koek's orchard venture failed, however, and he went bankrupt.
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