Emerald Hill Road, Singapore

Emerald Hill Road, Singapore (1 August 2017)


Emerald Hill Road is a minor road in Singapore. It is located in the Newton within Postal District 9. Today it is a narrow winding road. The road is lined on both sides with 2-storey prewar houses that have been restored. Many of these have been turned over for commercial use. Emerald Hill Road used to connect with Clemenceau Avenue North, but no longer does. Nowadays, traffic enters via Hullet Road, which in turn is fed by Cairnhill Road. A stretch of the road has one-way traffic, forming a loop with Hullet Road and Saunders Road. The southern portion of Emerald Hill Road at Peranakan Place is pedestrianized. That stretch is within the Orchard Planning Area.

According to Singapore Street Names¹, the area that is today Emerald Hill was the property of William Cuppage (1807-1872), whose name lives on at Cuppage Road. He arrived in Singapore to take up the position of postal clerk, but rose through the ranks to become acting Postmaster General by the 1840s. Aside from that, he also went into the plantation business. He leased the land at Emerald Hill in 1837 to establish a nutmeg plantation, and by 1845 was able to secure a permanent grant of the land.

The land on which the two rows of terrace houses on either sides of Emerald Hill Road was acquired by the Seah brothers, Seah Boon Kang and Seah Eng Kiat around the turn of the 20th century. They subdivided the property and over the initial decades of the 20th century, terrace houses were built to replace previous houses there.

According to What's in the Name?², Emerald Hill Road got its name in 1913. It was named after William Cuppage's Emerald Hill Estate.

The area became associated with the Singapore Peranakans after a number of notable Peranakans moved to live there.

Map of Emerald Hill Road, Singapore

Emerald Hill Road, Singapore (1 August 2017)


Emerald Hill Road, looking in the direction of Orchard Road. (1 August 2017)


Three-storey restored prewar terrace houses with French windows at Emerald Hill Road, Singapore. They have entrance archways but no five-foot ways. (1 August 2017)


Two-storey restored prewar terrace houses with five-foot way at Emerald Hill Road, Singapore. (1 August 2017)


Emerald Hill Road roadsign (1 August 2017)

Emerald Hill Road Singapore on Google Street View

Emerald Hill Road Singapore (Jan 2023)

References

List of the Streets in Singapore; Discover Singapore

 Sights in Singapore

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Streets of Singapore and Map of Singapore Streets

Singapore MRT and Map of Singapore MRT

Postal Districts of Singapore and Map of Singapore Postal Districts

Planning Areas of Singapore and Map of Singapore Planning Areas

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.