Almost two year i stay here at Perak but never once i go to Kellie's Castle. But yesterday, i manage to go there before i leave Perak. Kellie's Castle (sometimes also called Kellie's Folly) is located near Batu Gajah, and is about 20 minutes' drive from Ipoh, Perak. The unfinished, ruined mansion, was built by a Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith. According to differing accounts, it was either a gift for his wife or a home for his son.
History
William Kellie Smith was from a village in Scotland known as Kellas. In 1890, at the age of 20, he arrived in the then undeveloped Malaya. Here, he met an estate owner called Alma Baker, who had won concessions from the state government to clear 360 hectares of forests in Perak. With the substantial profits made from his business venture with Alma Baker, Smith started planting rubber trees and dabbled in the tin mining industry. In time, he became the owner of Kinta Kellas Estate and the Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company.
Now with his fortune made, he returned home to marry his Scottish sweetheart, Agnes, and brought her over to Malaysia in 1903. The following year, the couple was blessed with a daughter whom they named Helen. For many years after that, Agnes tried to conceive, but to no avail. William Smith desperately wanted a son and heir to take over his empire in the Malay peninsula. After many years, Agnes finally gave birth to a son, Anthony, in 1915. The birth of his child was the start of even greater success for William Smith. To celebrate Anthony's birth, William Smith decided to expand on his mansion. Smith started planning for a huge castle which he planned to call Kellas House, after his hometown in Scotland.
Unfortunately for Smith, tragedies struck soon after the construction of the Kellas House began. A virulent strain of the Spanish flu spread from Europe to Asia soon after World War I ended in Europe, killing many of the workers in the Kellas Estate. Another seventy workers constructing Smith's dream castle also became victims of the flu. Smith, who had already spent a fortune on his house, lost a lot of money because of this.
In the end, Kellas House, later known as Kellie's Castle or Kellie's Folly was sold to a British company called Harrisons and Crosfield. And now Kellie's Castle became a famous historical place in Perak.
There some picture that i take at this castle.
Ticket
Front view
Frenz forever (ika, ano, ili, humran, dya & shot)
Side view
Back view
This castle has many doors
Places of worship
Wine storage room
The way to the basement
Pattern used as room decoration
This is an escape/emergency stairway that maybe used by William's children to get out from this castle.
(The stairway is located between his children rooms)
Story about this castle
This also emergency stairway that located in William's room used to get out from this castle.
We go up to level 2 castle
This is supposed to be the lift shaft for the "1st Bucket Lift in Malaya"; unfortunately it did not materialize as William succumbed in Lisbon, Portugal in Dec 1926 on his way to collect the lift.
Views of the castle
We on the Castle roof
She's Diyana Amir
mR. wh
Memories bE6b in Kellie's Castle
On the top roof
Mizz Nadea
Mizz Ano
Mr Sharil
Mizz Fasih
Mizz Ika
Mizz iLi Diyana
Views from top roof of Kellie's Castle
Around the Kellie's Castle
That's all that can i tell about our visit to Kellie's Castle. It's a historic place and the view of a palace is very beautiful. Someday if you have time, you must go there. Finally, i want to say that i will always remembered this memory with my beloved friends. Thanks to all of you because being my great friends. Hopefully after this we'll have a time to gather again.
