SOURCE: BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. Regent Alfred John Bidwell was born on 12th June, 1869 and undertook his initial architectural training at Messrs. Lockyer, Son & Cox, London where his talents were first recognised, being appointed for his design work to the honours list of the prestigious, international Architectural Association.
He then worked as architect in various firms in London, first as assistant to Messrs. Crickmay & Son, then as chief assistant to Mr. W.H. Woodroffe, and then as assistant to the superintending architect of the London County Council.
By the age of 24 he had evidently begun to make a name for himself as he was talent-spotted by Sir Charles Hutton Gregory, a senior and influential engineer who worked on the construction of the railways in Selangor, who arranged his appointment as architect to the Public Works Department of Selangor.
In 1893, when young Bidwell arrived, it was an exciting time to work in Kuala Lumpur due to its continuing rapid development from mining village in the early 1880s, under the supervision of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy with a population of around 4,000, to a modern town of over 20,000 in 1890, becoming capital of the Federated Malay States in 1896.
Three years earlier in 1890 the beginnings of a Municipal Council had been set down with the establishment of the Sanitary Board which was transforming the overall condition of the town, improving its sanitation, sewerage and water supply, as well as its roads, lighting and other services.
It was also a period of rapid construction in all sectors and the services of skilled engineers and architects were in demand. In particular, with the transfer of the seat of British Government to Kuala Lumpur from Klang, suitable government buildings were needed and the site chosen for the new, main Government Office was next to the padang (now Merdeka Square) which was to replace the smaller building on Bluff Road.
The State Engineer of Selangor at the time, C.E.Spooner led the project for the new government offices, which later became known as the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, and the budget was eventually approved by the British Government. Bidwell was primarily responsible for the initial design which was drawn up in the classical renaissance style, but it was said that Spooner rejected it, possibly on grounds of cost, and instructed Bidwell to submit a new design based on the Indo-Sarcenic style.
Bidwell’s colleagues in the Public Works Department, architect A.C.Norman, was primarily responsible for the ground plan and architect A.B.Hubback worked mainly on the interior, although it was Norman who later received much credit for the building as chief architect. The foundation stone was laid by Sir Charles Mitchell, Governor of the Straits Settlements on 8th October, 1894, and the result is the Mughalist style building we see today reminiscent of medieval India with its onion domes, horseshoe arches and colonnades.
After only two years working in the Selangor Public Works Department, Bidwell decided to resign his position and move to Singapore entering private practice at the offices of Messrs. Swann & Maclaren in 1895. It would be another two years before the Sultan Abdul Samad Building was completed.
The new position appears to have suited him well as he would go on to work with the firm for the next thirty years, becoming a partner in 1899. During his time as chief architect he is credited with the design of many prestigious buildings in Singapore including: Atbara (Black and White) House (1898) – Raffles Hotel (1899) – Goodwood Park Hotel (1900) – Eden Hall (1904) – Singapore Cricket Club (1907) – Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall (1909) – and Butterfly House (1912).
According to the author of One hundred Years of Singapore (1921):
“Swann & Maclaren came easily first among those in control of the metamorphosis of building in Singapore.“
Whilst living in Singapore he married Edith Allen, daughter of C.Allen, who was an assistant to naturalist A.R.Wallace, and had two sons, one who served in the Royal Navy Air Service, and the other who became a planter in Johore.
In 1915 he left Swann & Maclaren and worked on his own account for a short time, but appeared to be in financial difficulties when he appeared before the Singapore Bankruptcy Court that same year reportedly owing $16,000 of which $10,500 was due to a single creditor, a Mr. Watkins.
Three years later, on 6th April, 1918, at the young age of 49, Bidwell died after a brief illness, at Tanjong Katong, Singapore, and was buried at Bidadari Cemetery.
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18/1/2025: 8.00 p.m
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