Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh

Eden Hall, Singapore

Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 19 May 1944) was a Singapore-based British rice and opium merchant and hotelier, who co-founded Singapore's Goodwood Park Hotel with his brothers Morris and Ellis.

Early life

Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh was born in Calcutta, the son of Saleh Manasseh, the founder and owner of S. Menasseh & Company (Gunny Rice and Opium Merchants), which he started in Calcutta in 1883.[1]

In 1885, his father at S. Menasseh & Company was in partnership with Saul Jacob Nathan, and after his death, was replaced by his widow Mrs S Manasseh, and Maurice Saleh Manasseh, Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh, and Reuben Manasseh all joined the partnership.[2]

Career

Goodwood Park Hotel

Manasseh had Eden Hall built in 1904, designed by the architect R. A. J. Bidwell, who also designed the Raffles Hotel and the Goodwood Park Hotel. It is now the British High Commissioner's official residence in Singapore.[3]

In 1918, after World War One and the defeat of Germany, the British government sold what had been the Teutonia Club via public auction to the Manasseh brothers (Morris, Ezekiel and Ellis), who renamed it Goodwood Hall before converting it into a hotel, the Goodwood Park Hotel. Manasseh continued to be a third owner until his death.[4][5][6]

In 1924-25, he built Nos 1, 3 and 5 Club Street.[5] In the 1930s, he was the chairman of the Singapore Turf Club.[7] He was a trustee of the Maghain Aboth Synagogue.[1]

Personal life

Manasseh and his wife had two two stepchildren, Vivian and Molly Bath.[3] His stepson Vivian Bath went to a labour camp on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.[3]

When Singapore was taken by the Japanese in 1942, Manasseh was sent to Changi Prison, and died there on 19 May 1944 in the prison hospital on Sime Road.[3][7][8]

His nephew is the architect Leonard Manasseh, who was born in Eden Hall in 1916.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Origins of the Baghdadi Trade Diaspora". Geni.com. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  2. ↑ Jerome Ch'en; Nicholas Tarling (10 June 2010). Studies in the Social History of China and South-East Asia: Essays in Memory of Victor Purcell. Cambridge University Press. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-521-13374-6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Eden Hall in Singapore Houses British Officials". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  4. ↑ Wan Meng Hao (15 April 2011). Heritage Places of Singapore. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. p. 119. ISBN 978-981-4312-95-0.
  5. 1 2 Kalpana Rashiwalakalpana (2014-07-03). "$22m asking price for five shophouses at Club Street, Real Estate". The Business Times. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  6. ↑ Gan Ee Bee; Chew Mei Lin Caroline. SINGAPORE INTERPRETATION The Heritage Story. Tusitala (RLS) Pte Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 978-981-09-7849-5.
  7. 1 2 "Portrait of Mr. Ezekiel Manasseh, before 1945 - BookSG - National Library Board, Singapore". Eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Brittain, Timothy. "Architect Leonard Manasseh at age 100 | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts". Royalacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
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