Governors, Missionaries,Traders and the Court of Final Appeal
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The Former French Mission Building Hong Kong - Battery Path Landmark
Foreword by Jamie
Governors, Missionaries, Jewish & American Traders and the Court of Final Appeal
I have lived in Hong Kong since 2nd January 1972, so over 50+ years now, and in that time I must have walked past the Former French Mission Building on Battery Path thousands of times. It sits literally about 50 yards from St John's Cathedral, my Church, and it has barely changed in all those decades despite housing a succession of Hong Kong Government departments and, for nearly 18 years, the Court of Final Appeal. One of the little things I have always noticed is that it is home to a small population of squirrels who seem quite content with their red brick surroundings. I have never been inside the building. Quite simply it has never been open to the public in the way St John's Cathedral has been since 1849. That always amuses me somewhat: a Catholic mission building standing so close to a Protestant cathedral. The site itself has been occupied since 1842, months after the British claimed Hong Kong, but the building you see today is largely the result of a major reconstruction completed around 1919. It is one of those quiet landmarks that most private tour companies in Hong Kong include because it tells so much of the city's story in one compact red brick package.
Sometimes details are duplicated in different paragraphs
Previous Names for the Building
The site has carried several names over the years. The original two storey house built in 1842 to 1843 was known as Johnston's House or Johnston House, named after A.R. Johnston, the Deputy Superintendent of Trade who had it constructed on Inland Lot 82 at the top of Battery Path. Sir Henry Pottinger, Hong Kong's first governor, authorised it and later rented it. In 1879 it was acquired by the merchant Emanuel Raphael Belilios, who renamed it Beaconsfield in 1882 after Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield, the British Prime Minister he admired. Local Chinese residents called it Kong Pek House, the Chinese rendering of Beaconsfield. After the Paris Foreign Missions Society bought it in 1915 it became the French Mission Building, and once sold back to the government in 1952 to 1953 it settled into its present title of the Former French Mission Building.
Why the Change from Light Coloured Whitewash to the Red Brick Facade
The earlier buildings on the site, particularly the Beaconsfield structure of the late 19th century, presented a lighter, whitewashed or pale painted exterior. When the Paris Foreign Missions Society commissioned Leigh and Orange in 1915 for what is described as an extensive rebuilding, they deliberately refaced the building with red bricks. The reasons were practical and aesthetic. Red brick, with its high iron content in the clay fired at high temperatures, offered better durability against Hong Kong's humidity and weather than whitewash, which required frequent maintenance. It also suited the Edwardian Neo Classical style they wanted, with white stone or painted accents providing contrast. The change marked a clear break from the previous commercial and government use and announced the building's new identity as a Catholic mission procure. The green louvres you still see today were part of that original 1917 design and have survived. The foundation stone, engraved with the ME monogram for Mission Etrangere and the date 24 Mars 1917, sits as a reminder that construction started then and the building was completed and opened around 1919..
The Former French Mission Building - Complete Timeline and Notable Tenants
Here is the story in order, with the key dates and who occupied the place.
• 1842: Sir Henry Pottinger authorises construction of a two storey stone and brick house with verandahs on three sides on Inland Lot 82.
• 1842 to 1843: Johnston's House is completed.
• 1843 to 1846: Government rents the house at HK$150 per month as temporary residence for the Governor. Sir Henry Pottinger lives there. It is burgled on the night of 26th April 1843.
• 1846 to 1848: Used as temporary accommodation for the Supreme Court. John Francis Davis also stays briefly before moving to Caine Road. Likely early home for the Legislative Council.
• 1860: Expanded into a three storey building with basement and two corner towers.
• 1860s to late 1876: Rented to Augustine Heard and Company (American trading firm involved in the opium trade) and others. Used in the 1870s as the Russian Consulate. Heard and Co goes bankrupt in 1876.
• 1879: Acquired by E.R. Belilios. Renamed Beaconsfield in 1882. Leased for various uses including Hongkong and Shanghai Bank and Butterfield and Swire.
• 1897 to 1911: Leased by the government for offices of the Attorney General, Crown Solicitor, Education Department and Sanitary Department / Registrar General.
• 1915: Acquired by the Missions Etrangeres de Paris (Paris Foreign Missions Society) and renamed French Mission Building.
• 1916 to 1919: Extensive rebuilding by Leigh and Orange. Chapel with cupola added in the north west corner. Refaced in red brick and granite. Foundation stone 24th March 1917. Completed and opened 1919.
• Shortly before 1941: Briefly used by the colonial government.
• 1941 to 1945: Occupied by the Japanese Army during the occupation.
• 23rd August 1945 to April 1946: Temporary headquarters of the Provisional Hong Kong Government after the Japanese surrender.
• 1946 to 1948: Temporary accommodation for the Supreme Court.
• 1949: Society of Jesus, expelled from Canton, moves St Ignatius Language School to the top floor, with accommodation for Joseph Mallin.
• 1952: Government purchases the building from the French Mission for HK$2.85 million (about US$365,000 at the time). Transaction finalised 1953.
• 1953 onwards: Education Department, then Victoria District Court (around 1965 to 1980), Supreme Court (1980 to 1983), Information Services Department (from about 1987).
• 14th September 1989: Declared a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.
• 1st July 1997 to 6th September 2015: Home of the Court of Final Appeal. Relocated on 7th September 2015 to the Old Supreme Court building.
• After 2015: Renovated for use by law related organisations as part of the legal hub with the adjacent Justice Place (former Central Government Offices). Conversion cost estimated at HK$234.2 million.
The Early Years: Johnston’s House
The original two storey house on the site, known as Johnston’s House, was authorised by Sir Henry Pottinger in 1842 and constructed in 1842 to 1843 as a stone and brick building with verandahs on three sides. It stood on Inland Lot 82 at the top of Battery Path. The government rented it at HK$150 a month as temporary accommodation for the Governor. Sir Henry Pottinger lived there from 1843, and the house was burgled on the night of 26th April 1843. John Francis Davis also stayed briefly before moving to Caine Road. One later government paper has claimed the first generation was completed in 1841, but the better documented timelines put the start of construction in 1842.
In 1846 the building became temporary accommodation for the Supreme Court. Later it passed through private hands. In the 1860s it was expanded into a three storey building with a basement and two corner towers. Augustine Heard & Co. used it, and for a period in the 1870s it served as the Russian Consulate. In 1879 Emanuel Raphael Belilios acquired it and renamed it Beaconsfield. The government later leased it for various offices, including the Sanitary Board and the Registrar General’s office.
The French Mission Period and the Red Brick Façade
In 1915 the Paris Foreign Missions Society (Missions Étrangères de Paris) bought the building. They commissioned Leigh & Orange to carry out a major reconstruction. The first stone of the new building was laid on 24th March 1917. The work added a chapel topped by a cupola in the north west corner, refaced the exterior in red brick and granite, and gave the building its present neo classical Edwardian appearance. It reopened in 1917 and became known as the French Mission Building. A foundation stone carrying the “ME” emblem (for Mission Étrangère) and the date 24 Mars 1917 can still be seen. Construction started that year; the building was finished and opened in 1919.
The change from the earlier light or whitewashed exterior to the red brick façade you see today happened as part of that same 1915 to 1919 rebuild. The previous building (linked to the Beaconsfield years) had an all white appearance. When Leigh & Orange reconstructed it for the French Mission they deliberately refaced it in red brick and granite to create the neo classical Edwardian look that still defines the building. No more detailed reason is recorded; it was simply part of the architectural redesign.
The large black gate with the fleur de lis is a surviving French Mission feature. Conservation records specifically list the side metal gate with the fleur de lys logo among the characteristic elements of the building’s setting. The fleur de lis is the traditional French emblem, so it dates from the period when the Missions Étrangères de Paris owned the building (1915 to 1952).
Japanese Occupation and Return to the Government
During the Japanese occupation the building was used by the Japanese Army from 1941 to 1945. Exactly what they did with it is not clearly recorded. Given its size, solid construction and position on Government Hill next to the former Central Government Offices, it was almost certainly put to some administrative or military use, but there is no confirmed evidence it served as a major headquarters. After the Japanese surrender it became the temporary headquarters of the Provisional Hong Kong Government from 23rd August 1945 to April 1946.
In 1952 the French Mission sold the building back to the Hong Kong Government. The contract was signed on 23rd December 1952 for HK$2.85 million. The government took occupation and began using the building in 1953. From that point it housed a succession of government departments: the Education Department, the Victoria District Court, the Supreme Court and the Information Services Department.
Court of Final Appeal and Later Use
From 1st July 1997 until 6th September 2015 the building housed the Court of Final Appeal. When the Court moved to the Old Supreme Court building on Jackson Road, the Former French Mission Building was renovated for use by law related organisations. It was declared a monument on 14th September 1989.
The Former French Mission Building - Architectural Details
The present building is a three storey structure with basement, built of granite and red bricks in Neo Classical Edwardian style. It sits on a granite podium because of its position on Government Hill. The north west chapel has a cupola and double height ceiling with an oculus for light, Ionic pilasters, and mosaic floor tiles. The ground floor hall retains ornate columns, a wooden staircase and vaulted ceiling. There is a well proportioned inner courtyard. Reinforced concrete floor slabs and I beams were advanced for 1917. The open verandahs and green louvres were practical responses to Hong Kong's subtropical climate. During the French Mission period the basement included a wine cellar and quarters for servants and coolies. A marker stone near the corner carries old markings that may relate to early electricity services. The building survived the Japanese occupation relatively intact. After the Court of Final Appeal left, it was converted at significant cost to house law related organisations, creating a legal hub in Central.
Key points
Three storey red brick and granite neo classical building with basement
Elevated on a granite platform with retaining walls
Chapel with cupola in the north west corner
Internal courtyard
Green louvred shutters (original design)
Ornate columns, wooden staircase and vaulted ceiling on the ground floor
Site footprint approximately 1,360 square metres (about 14,650 square feet)
Gross floor area approximately 3,065 square metres (about 33,000 square feet)
Side metal gate with fleur de lys emblem from the French Mission period
A few more details from the conservation work are worth noting. The former chapel has double height space, an oculus in the dome that lets in soft light, Ionic pilasters and mosaic floor tiles. From the Court of Final Appeal years, Cell No. 2 on the lower ground floor was kept as a reminder of the judicial use. The internal courtyard was originally an open light well for ventilation; a glass canopy was added later.
Current Use - More Specifics
It is neither a government private club nor a single department’s offices.
After the Court of Final Appeal moved out in September 2015, the building was renovated (works finished around 2020) and brought into the Hong Kong Legal Hub. The Department of Justice took it over and allocated the space to law related organisations (local, regional and international bodies working in legal services and dispute resolution).
Together with Justice Place (the former Central Government Offices next door) and part of Two Exchange Square, it forms the Legal Hub in Central. The idea is to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services..
Official descriptions (Department of Justice, Development Bureau, Antiquities and Monuments Office) still list it as being used by these law related organisations. It is not open to the public in the ordinary sense, which matches what you have always observed from the outside. Some sources note that a few designated areas may occasionally be opened for interpretation on scheduled days, but day to day it functions as office space for those organisations.
So eleven years on it is still in active use as part of the Legal Hub, not sitting empty or turned into a club.
Nothing public turns up about a bar, lounge or club room inside the Former French Mission Building.
Official papers from the Department of Justice, the Development Bureau and the Architectural Services Department all describe the conversion as office space for law related organisations. There is no mention of a bar, canteen, members’ room or anything similar in the project descriptions, the Legal Hub guides or the conservation notes.
That said, my instinct is reasonable. The building is large, it is occupied by lawyers and legal bodies, and Hong Kong has a long habit of quietly fitting out staff or members’ facilities in government and professional buildings that never appear in the public descriptions. It would not surprise me either if there is a small private bar or refreshment area somewhere inside that is simply never advertised. The public record just does not confirm it.
So the documented use remains offices for those law related organisations as part of the Legal Hub. Any bar would be unofficial and out of sight.
In case you where wondering about the name
The name “Former French Mission Building” stuck because that is the period that produced the building you actually see today.
The earlier structure on the site was Johnston’s House, later known as Beaconsfield. When the Paris Foreign Missions Society bought it in 1915 they did not just move in; they commissioned Leigh & Orange to carry out a major reconstruction. That work (foundation stone 24th March 1917, completed and opened 1919) gave the building its present red brick and granite neo classical form, the chapel with the cupola, and the overall appearance that has barely changed since. In conservation and heritage terms the building is therefore treated as the French Mission Building of 1917 to 1919, even though the site itself is older.
Hong Kong’s declared monument list and official descriptions almost always name a building after the use or owner that created or substantially rebuilt it, rather than after the most recent or most famous later occupant. The Court of Final Appeal only used it from 1997 to 2015 (18 years). The French Mission period is the one that left the lasting architectural identity. That is why the Antiquities and Monuments Office, the Development Bureau and every official document still call it the Former French Mission Building, and why “Old Court of Final Appeal” has never been adopted as the formal name.
It is the same pattern you see with other buildings: the Former Central Government Offices kept that name even after the courts and other departments moved, and the Old Supreme Court building is still referred to that way even though the Court of Final Appeal now sits inside it. The name that marks the building’s defining construction or rebuild is the one that survives
Final Thoughts
For me this building is a quiet constant in a city that changes so fast. It has housed governors, traders, a Russian consul, French missionaries, government clerks, and the highest court in the land. The red brick you see today is the face the French mission gave it over a century ago, and it has worn well. Most visitors never go inside, which is a pity because the surviving interiors are among the finest of their period in Hong Kong. On a private tour it is a natural stop, especially with St John's Cathedral right beside it
The Former French Mission Building remains one of the most quietly significant buildings on Government Hill. It has stood through the entire colonial period, the Japanese occupation, the return of Hong Kong and the early years of the Special Administrative Region, and it still looks much as it did when the French Mission finished their work just after the First World War. Most private tour companies in Hong Kong stop here because the story is long, the architecture is clear, and the location next to St John’s Cathedral makes the contrast easy to see. From the outside today the Peak is hidden by the former Central Government Offices and the trees, but the red brick and the fleur de lis gate still tell you exactly where you are.
So there you
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