Heritage churches
With Christmas just around the corner, visits some historical churches in the Kinta Valley
1. ALL SAINTS CHURCH, JALAN TAMING SARI, TAIPING
Founded in 1886, All Saints Church became the first church in the Federated Malay States (FMS) when the latter was formed in 1895.
The establishment of the church was proposed by Colonel Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker in 1883, who was Assistant Resident of Perak, and planter W.V. Drummond later donated the present site.
Australian architect G.A. Lefroy rendered the interior of the building unique by designing a Gothic rib-vault which supports the ceiling.
Adjacent to the church is a small cemetery containing the graves of early British civil servants who died while stationed in the FMS.
2. ST LOUIS CATHOLIC CHURCH,
JALAN CONVENT, TAIPING
In 1897, French missionary Father Louis Marie Duvelle started a new parish to cater to Tamil-speaking Catholics in Taiping and erected the original structure of the church.
On July 26, 1937 Monsignor Adrien Devais laid the foundation stone for a new building. In Sept 11, 1937, it was consecrated by Leo Kierkels, the Apostilic Delegate of the East Indies. Named after Saint Louis IX, a king of France, this building was the second Catholic church in Taiping. Today, the original building functions as the Parish Hall.
3. WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH, JALAN TEMENGGONG, TAIPING
Wesley Methodist Church was set up in collaboration with Epworth League, an association of young Methodist adults, to serve the spiritual needs of Englishspeaking Christians in Taiping.
The church previously shared the same building as the Chinese Methodist Church in Theatre Road, which catered to Chinese-speaking Christians.
Wesley Methodist Church has a partnership with Persatuan Perkhidmatan Komuniti Taiping to provide fellowship to senior citizens who live alone. Reverend Joshua Khong Chee Leong heads Wesley Methodist Church.
4. CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF SACRED HEART, JALAN LUMBA KUDA, TAIPING F. Allard built the original structure of this church in 1875 in the Klian Pau area