Declared Monuments in Hong Kong

The School House of St. Stephen’s College is not only the oldest surviving school building which still provides boarding services in Hong Kong, but also one of the very few remaining sites of the Stanley Internment Camp.

St. Stephen's College was established by Rev. Bishop Banister of the Anglican Church and a number of prominent Chinese such as Sir Ho Kai and Dr Tso Seen-wan, who wished to save China by means of education. It was first opened on Western Street in 1903 and moved to Bonham Road in 1924. Construction of the present Stanley campus started in 1928. Opened on 25 March 1930, the School House was the first building completed under the project.

The Japanese attacked Hong Kong in 1941 and captured St. Stephen's College on Christmas Day in the same year. They broke into the School House and initiated the "St. Stephen's College Massacre". St. Stephen's College, together with the nearby Stanley Prison Warders’ Quarters, were used as the Stanley Internment Camp during the Japanese Occupation (1941 – 1945). After the war, the school was re-opened in 1947.

The School House is of late transitional Arts and Crafts style bearing Modernist influence. It is an H-shaped building consisting of an east wing and a west wing connected by a central block. Rough-cast rendering, wide overhanging eaves, arched windows and doorways and arcaded verandahs are typical features of the Arts and Crafts style.