Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah, Perak

Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah, Perak (12 August, 2017)


Kellie's Castle (GPS: 4.47437, 101.08778) is an abandoned incomplete mansion in Batu Gajah, Perak. The ruins are located on a knoll above Sungai Raya, a tributary to Sungai Kinta. Kellie's Castle is probably the most extraordinary incomplete building in Malaysia. What makes it stand out is what I call the triumph of successful tourism marketing!

The man behind the castle was a Scotsman, William Kellie Smith, founder of the publicly listed company Kinta Kellas. Kellas was derived from Easter Kellas, the name of the land belonging to his parents in Scotland. Kellie was his mother's maiden name, which he adopted as his middle name. He arrived in Malaya at the turn of the nineteenth century. Using the funds he obtained from a partnership with another friend to build roads in South Perak, Kellie bought forest lands and converted them into rubber plantation. A sharp business acumen coupled with good farming expertise soon make his plantation very profitable, and Kellie a very rich man.

Around 1909/10, Kellie began building his country home. The design incorporates Islamic architectural elements, much like those being constructed in Kuala Lumpur by the British at that time. The compound was beautifully landscaped with ornamental plants as well as a fruit orchard. There is also a well-stocked fish pond. As many as 40 people were employed to look after it.

Still not satisfied, Kellie proceeded to build a second house. It was to be linked to the first by a covered passageway. The second house also featured Islamic architectural elements, such as dome-shaped windows. It was to have 14 rooms, and was state-of-the-art at his time, for it included a tower, which was to hold the first elevator in Malaya, and even a moat around it. Truly, it was more a castle than a country house.

Skilled artisans and contruction workers were brought from India to work on the house. However, an epidemic hit his workers, interrupting the construction. To appease them, he had a Hindu shrine built nearby, with a statue of himself placed within it. The underground passageways were also constructed, one of them tunnelling to the Hindu temple.

Construction came to an abrupt halt when Kellie died suddenly in Lisbon. He was said to have succumbed to pneumonia while on his way to take delivery of the elevator he ordered for his house. Another story claimed that his wife Agnes, tired of life in the plantation, had returned to her home country, and he was on his way to meet her. Yet a different story claimed that he was in Lisbon to negotiate a concession over Portuguese East Timor. However, there was no possibility now to verify these stories.

Agnes Smith later relinquished all interests in the Kinta Kellas Estates, and the plantations were managed by several local companies. Kellie's imcomplete castle was left to the elements to deteriorate until the Department of Museum and Antiquities took action to restore it. Kellie's Castle was restored to the condition it was in when work stopped, so that it looks abandoned and incomplete, as if awaiting its master to return and finish the job.

Visiting Kellie's Castle

Kellie's Castle is open daily from 9:00am to 6:00pm, with last entry at 5:30pm. At the time of my visit in 2017, admission fee was RM10 per adult (RM5 for Malaysians) and RM8 per child aged 3-12 (RM3 for Malaysians), and RM4 for Malaysian senior citizen aged 60 and above.

Pre-Wedding Photo Shoot can be arranged at Kellie's Castle at RM50 per still camera, and RM5 per adult person.

Photographs from our visit in 2017

Remnants of the original bricks and mortar from Kellie's Castle (12 August, 2017)


Kellie's Castle, as seen from below the knoll. (12 August, 2017)


Staircase going up to Kellie's Castle main building, with part of the unrestored Guard House & Horse Stables in the foreground. (12 August, 2017)


Guard House and Horse Stables (12 August, 2017)


Side view of Kellie's Castle (12 August, 2017)


Unrestored ruins of Kellas House, Kellie's first home at Kellie's Castle complex (12 August, 2017)


Ruins of Kellas House, Kellie's first home at the Kellie's Castle complex. It was built in 1905, but was partially destroyed during the Second World War. (12 August, 2017)


This is not a well, but rather the ventilation hole for a tunnel linking Kellie's Castle to the nearby Hindu temple. (12 August, 2017)


This area was once the dining hall in Kellie's first home. The tiles were re-laid in 2003. (12 August, 2017)


The façade of Kellas House, reminiscent of Macau's St Paul's Ruins (12 August, 2017)


The kitchen area of Kellas House. (12 August, 2017)


Remains of the kitchen at Kellas House, Kellie's Castle. (12 August, 2017)


View from Kellas House to Kellie's Castle. (12 August, 2017)


Iron bars offer reenforcement to a wall at Kellas House. (12 August, 2017)


View of the ruins of Kellas House, with Kellie's Castle at the background. (12 August, 2017)


Pathway through the grounds of Kellie's Castle. (12 August, 2017)


Remains of the rear entrance to the Kellie's Castle grounds. (12 August, 2017)


Another view of the pathway between Kellie's Castle and its rear entrance. (12 August, 2017)


The cloister balcony of Kellie's Castle. (12 August, 2017)


The Main Hall, done up with period furniture. (12 August, 2017)


A modern bridge across Sungai Raya, a tributary of Sungai Kinta, in front of Kellie's Castle. (12 August, 2017)


The alcove is formerly the family altar. (12 August, 2017)


Ceiling view in the cloister balcony (12 August, 2017)


Secret passageway at Kellie's Castle (12 August, 2017)


View from Kellie's Castle towards Sungai Raya. (12 August, 2017)


The Master Bedroom (12 August, 2017)


Scenic view from Kellie's Castle (12 August, 2017)


View towards Kellas House. (12 August, 2017)


The tallest part of Kellie's Castle. (12 August, 2017)

360° View of Kellie's Castle on Google Maps Street View

Photographs from our visit in 2004

Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah (8 August, 2004)


Side view of Kellie's Castle showing its three storeys (8 August, 2004)


An annex building to Kellie's Castle, probably used as a chapel (8 August, 2004)


The arches on Kellie's Castle - doesn't it remind you of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building? (8 August, 2004)


Colonnaded corridor at Kellie's Castle (8 August, 2004)


Another view of Kellie's Castle (8 August, 2004)



This could possibly be a lift shaft at Kellie's Castle, a first in Perak (8 August, 2004)


Group of AsiaExplorers members visiting Kellie's Castle (8 August, 2004)

Kellie's Castle is on the Map of Batu Gajah, Perak

List of Historic Buildings in Perak and Historic Buildings in Malaysia

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