House No. 1 - Chek Jawa Visitor Centre

NF#1: The Chek Jawa Visitor Centre is also call House No. 1, which is its postal address in Pulau Ubin. This unique building was built in the 1930s for Langdon Williams, the then Chief Surveyor, as a holiday retreat. It is made of masonry and emulates the style of an English cottage, first found in tea planters’ residences during the British colonial era. The building was awarded conservation status on 1 December 2003, and restoration work of the building was completed in 2006.



NF#2: House No. 1 is also the home to rare 2 species of rare bats! The fireplace, which is among the last few working ones left in Singapore, is the home to a colony of rare Pouched Tomb bats. The nearby water tower was retained as another rare species of Malayan False Vampire bats currently resides in it.

NF#3: There used to be another smaller outbuilding. Although newer than the main house, it had to be pulled down as it was no longer structurally sound. Some of its wall facades have been salvaged and incorporated into the toilet block.