Consecrated in 1862, St Andrew’s Cathedral is the oldest surviving Anglican place of worship in Singapore.
The Anglican Church’s presence in Singapore began officially in 1826 when the East India Company appointed its first chaplain to the settlement. During the early years, the Anglican community in Singapore worshipped at a chapel located at the junction of North Bridge Road and Bras Basah Road.
Purportedly, the idea of building a church was proposed as early as 1822 but it was only in 1835 that the foundation stone of the first church was laid. As many of the founding donors were Scottish, the new church was named after Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. The first church building, designed by architect G. D. Coleman, was completed on this site and consecrated in 1838. After two lightning strikes to the church in the 1840s, the building was declared unsafe in 1852 and later demolished.
Following this, the second church building was designed by Lieutenant-Colonel Ronald MacPherson. In 1870, the church building attained cathedral status and was given its present name, St Andrew’s Cathedral.
During World War II, the cathedral served as an emergency hospital for casualties. The cathedral also continued holding services during the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945) and its grounds were used to grow vegetables for food. After the war, it continued to be the social and religious centre of Singapore’s Anglican community, serving as the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Singapore. In recognition of its historical significance, the cathedral was gazetted as a National Monument in 1973.
