Kellie's Castle
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Kellie's Castle (sometimes also called Kellie's Folly) is a castle located in Batu Gajah, Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. 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. Kellie's Castle is situated beside the Raya River (Sungai Raya), which is a small creek to the Kinta River.Construction on a mansion started in 1910 called the Kellas House, which would eventually become the castle. With the birth of Kellie-Smith's son in 1915, he started planning for a huge castle with Moorish, Indo-Saracenic and Roman designs.Kellie-Smith brought in 70 craftsmen from Madras, India. All the bricks and marble were imported from India too. Included in the plan was a four-floored building with 14 rooms and an elevator (Malaya's first), it also included underground tunnels, secret rooms, a tennis court, a wine cellar and hidden stairways. Also, the bricks and tiles made for the castle were brought from India.[2][3] During construction, a virulent strain of Spanish flu struck his workmen in 1918.[2] When his workmen approached him to build a temple nearby, Kellie-Smith readily agreed. In return for his generosity, they built a statue of him beside the other deities on the lord murugan temple wall. It is believed that a tunnel was built to the temple from the castle. Descendants of the Tamil labourers brought over to Malaya to work on the mansion still live nearby.[citation needed] William Kellie-Smith died at the age of 56 of pneumonia during a short trip to Lisbon, Portugal in 1926. William's wife was devastated and decided to move back to Scotland; construction on the castle was never completed by the workers and the castle was left abandoned in the jungle.[2] In the end, Kellas House, later known as "Kellie's Folly" or "Kellie's Castle," was sold to a British company called Harrisons and Crosfield.[3] Kellie's Castle is now a popular local tourist attraction. It was used as a setting in the 1999 film Anna and the King and 2001 film Skyline Cruisers.[4] The castle saw recent developments to its physical condition for the comfort of its tourists, a restaurant was also made across the river opposite the castle. During school holidays, the castle would have as much as 500 to 700 people visiting daily.[3] In 2015, Kellie's Castle was the site of the first ever 24-hour comic challenge in a castle. A collaboration between Port Ipoh and the Malaysian Comic Activist Society (PEKOMIK) and Malaysian Animation Society (ANIMAS), the event took place on 21–22 March 2015 and was claimed as the "scariest" 24 hour comics challenge.
AFZAAL KHAN NIAZIAFZAAL KHAN NIAZI
00
William Kellie-Smith is the builder behind Kellie's castle. The was born in 1870 in Scotland. And work as a civil engineer in Malaya. Working in Charles Alma Baker's survey firm. Kellie bought 1,000 acres of land in Batu Gajar where the castle sits. He started planting rubber trees and mining Tins. And he own the Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company. He married to Agnes and had a daughter Helen and son Anthony. The mansion is separated into 2 section. The yellow coloured wall is the original house before the castle. While the red brick building is the castle. Which was planned for his children. It was planned with the first lift in Malaya. The incomplete lift shaft is visible on left side of the castle. And a Hindu temple nearby, Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. There are tales of the tunnel from the castle to the temple. It was built after the Spanish Flu took many of the worker's life. The castle is famous for many hidden tunnel. William Kelly die of pneumonia 1926 at the age of 56. He die on the short trip to Lisbon Portugal. Ghost story and tales of the castle. There is a popular tale of ghost figure looking out the first windows of the mansion. This figure is said to be the spirit of William Kellie. Returning to the castle and wish to see it completed. There are also tale of a ghost figure in white blouse roaming in the house. There is a secret tunnel with a car parked inside in 1960. Many worker die during the construction of the castle from Spanish flu. And rumour that they are still roaming around the castle. #Travel #Malaysia #Perak #BatuGajar #KelliesCastle #Castle #Ghost
Kam Hoe Chaw (Super Good)Kam Hoe Chaw (Super Good)
10
Kellie's Castle.... Picturesque surroundings I will try to be as detail as possible in this. We bunch of expats went out to Ipoh for long drive from KL on New year day. We saw many reviews on it and seems kind of popular. So decided to visit this place at the last moment. We have reached this location by evening 5 PM and it operational hours of it are till 6 PM on weekdays and 6:30 PM on Fri, Sat & Sundays. But they asked us to leave by 6 PM on Friday evening. They are maintaining it very well and so clean those premises are. They have entry fee for this facility(Attached pic as well for your reference). Adult Malaysian - RM 5 Foreigner - RM 10 Kids (4-11yrs) Malaysian - RM 3 Foreigner - RM 8 Senior Citizen Malaysian - RM 4 Foreigner - RM 10 On the castle, its a small 2 story building and has greenery backyard. To be frank its not that a big place but yet beautiful surroundings for taking some amazing pictures(added some for your reference). There are few spots where you can get good pictures but those places are crowded and everyone is waiting for their time to take some pictures. Castle has a underground wine cellar and ground floor is more for socializing purpose with waiting lounge and some setting and now they are using to explain the history of this castle. 2nd floor they have 3 bedrooms(Master bedroom, Son Bedroom and Daughter's bedroom) with wooden basement. They have 2 escape routes behind toilets. One for Master bedroom and another one is in between Son & Daughter's bedroom. There was a story going around saying few photographers who came to picture Bats have spotted a Ghostly image of a man standing looking out window and it also claims that this has been telecasted in Discovery Channel as well. There is a small canal passing through this surroundings and they have a keys wall and souvenir shop to pick some souvenir to remember this so called Ghostly castle. They are harnessing the solar energy by placing all solar powered lights in castle surroundings. GO GREEN So out and out, its a small castle and nothing compare to Indian Forts(Hyderabad/Udaypur/Delhi/Jaipur/Mysore) or European castles and you been to any of those then you can give a pass to this place. But it has beautiful surrounds, especially the pics taken with background of Sime Darby Palm oil tree plantations were breath taking ones. Carry a good hand phone when you are visiting this place to capture those surroundings and there was a sign saying RM 50 fine for Professional Cameras(There might be fee which I missed to enquire). Maintenance - 7/10 picturesque - 8/10 History- 4/10 Quality - 5/10 Environmental - 8/10 Accessible by Road - 8/10 Parking - 6/10 (Small parking place and weekends you end up parking on road side)
R GR G
20
An old castle surrounded by beautiful scenery, right next to a river. The complex consists of 1 main building & 1 ruins where you can explore inside and there's a bit of history/ background of the place. It's noteworthy that it's not a historical site, more of private residence owned by Kellie (British businessman resided there at that time). Parking space available nearby which will cost you RM5 and ticket for each person (foreigner) will be RM10. I think for locals it'll be RM5 each. There's also a simple eatery on-site offering instant noodles & drinks. The things that I would suggest to improve (1) Cleanliness. This place losing 2 stars because it's not well-kept, it's smelly and unclean. So we just take pics and not really enjoyed the tour inside of the building. We didn't even take a look at all angles/room in the house. (2) Please don't force visitors to take pics prior proceeding to the bridge (where they'll check ur tixs & asked u to take pic there). I understand that it's to entice us to buy the souvenir (photo printing & printed keychain), but some are not comfortable having their pics taken and kept by ur company due to privacy reason. So pls consider this. Definately, if you're in the area, it's worth to give a visit especially if ur focus is to take pictures. Well, I suppose that's the main attraction here.
CindhiCindhi
00
Perfect if you love getting to know some history. This is an unfinished castle built by a Scottish man William Kellie Smith who came to Malaya as a civil engineer, eventually garnering much wealth. He planned to build this castle (probably to increase his social standing and to prove wrong those who were skeptical). It incorporates many different types of architectural styles. There are signs all around to inform you about the room you're entering and some fun facts. Some interesting things to see: a wine cellar in the basement, secret spiral stairways in case of emergency, 100-year old oven, remaining Italian marbles in the bathroom, rooftop tennis court, a lift shaft. William died of pneumonia when he was in Portugal for a trip and was thought to be on his way to England to collect the hydraulic lift (supposed to be the first ever in Malaya) for his castle. His life seemed to be filled with many tragedies. The irony is also that the magnificent castle would've been very empty even if it was completed, because William's wife & children were living in England so William would have been on his own in the residence. The ticket price is RM 5 for adults and RM4 for senior citizens. Another tip: Go at 9.30am when they open, because it's going to get very hot! We spent almost 2 hours because we really took our slow sweet time.
Angeline TingAngeline Ting
60
First time at Kellie's Castle. We spent a good 3 hours exploring this place. Could have stayed longer but the heat and humidity was too much that day even though we started at 10am. One word of caution - if you plan to take Grab there, make sure you get the driver to wait for you. Otherwise you may not/won't be able to get a Grab from Kellie's Castle back to your hotel. Prepare a bottle of drinking water if possible as everything there are priced on the high side. Apart from being a very historical place, this place exudes different energy at different locations. Go down to the wine cellar via the spiral stairs and hang around. Go right up to the rooftop to enjoy the magnificent view of Batu Gajah. But be careful as some parts of the rooftop are not very safe for those who are afraid of heights. Then walk down floor by floor and read the plaque to understand the purpose of each room in the castle. Once you are done at the castle, go to the adjacent building where it used to be the maids quarters as well as the kitchen. Interesting place indeed.
Brian MellingBrian Melling
110
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Address
Lot 48436, Kompleks Pelancongan Kellie's Castle, KM 5.5, Jalan Gopeng, 31000 Batu Gajah, Perak, Malaysia
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Phone
+60 10-505 4817
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Description
Kellie's Castle is a castle located in Batu Gajah, Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. 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.
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