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The
magnificent mansion located at 45 Stubbs Road was up for tender in
early 2004, which closed on 8th June. Estate agents said it was
highly likely that the new buyer would demolish the property and
redevelop it given the recovered property market. The Conservancy
Association, a strong advocate of the historical heritage, wrote to
the then Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho in April requesting
him to consider declaring the mansion as a monument in his capacity
as the Antiquities Authority. The Association also organized the
"Save King Yin Lei Campaign" in June and generated society-wide
discussion. The owner told the media that he would not sell the
building for the moment in June 2004.
 
There
was a change of ownership in August 2007. The Conservation
Association wrote to Carrie Lam, the Secretary for Development in
early August requesting her to declare the mansion as a proposed
monument in her capacity as the Antiquities Authority under the
Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance; we also suggested to the
Antiquities Advisory Board to grade the building. In the letter
dated 13 August, the Development Bureau revealed that the
Antiquities and Monuments Office was “in the process of conducting a
detailed research with a view to ascertaining the heritage value of
the building such that an appropriate way for its preservation could
be devised.”
Regrettably it was discovered on 11 September 2007 that the mansion
was being dismantled. In the following three days, the green tiles,
the sphere-shaped decoration on the main roof, the window frames as
well as the red brick wall surfaces were destroyed. The Conservancy
Association wrote to the Development Bureau immediately and
reiterated our demand; we then staged a petition on 13 outside the
Central Government Offices. After a special meeting with the
Antiquities Advisory Board, Carrie Lam announced that King Yin Lei
at 45 Stubbs Road would be declared as a proposed monument after the
decision was gazetted the day after.
The Administration declared the 1937-built private property at 128
Pokfulam Road as a Proposed Monument; the 1936 built Morrison
Building with Hoh Fuk Tong Centre, also a private property, was
declared as a monument in March 2004. Even thought the
Administration managed to conserve a handful of private properties
with historical value, nothing could prevent similar buildings from
demolition if a fair and transparent grading and compensation
mechanism was not implemented.
The mansion, built in 1937, sits on a 50 650 square feet site. The
three-storey building is a “red bricks and green tiles" mansion of
Chinese Renaissance or Chinese Neo Classical Style, which
reinterprets traditional Chinese architectural form in the light of
western design techniques. A private garden festooned with bonsai
plants, various pavilions and terraces encircles the mansion. It has
been a scenic spot for mainland and overseas tourists. The legendary
TV series "Yesterday's Glitter" starring Lisa Wong and the 1955
Hollywood movie "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" was shot in the
mansion. |
