Description of the attraction
The former French Mission building has long been used by the French Society of Foreign Missions as a representative office in Hong Kong. The three-storey building with a basement is built of granite and red brick in a neoclassical style.
The first two-story mansion ("Johnston House") built in 1842 was occupied by successively different owners, among whom were both private individuals and trading companies, and even the Russian consulate. The house was purchased and renovated in the 1870s and 1880s. During the rebuilding, later ordered by the French Mission, they added another floor, changed the finish of the white plastered facade, revealing the walls with bricks. A chapel is located in the northwest corner, its domed cupola dominates the rest of the roof.
The building underwent several more repairs in the future, but many historical architectural features can be seen in it now. For example, the hall on the ground floor, with its ornate columns, wooden staircase and vaulted ceilings, and a graceful courtyard, is one of the finest examples of traditional Edwardian architecture in Hong Kong.
After World War II, the building was used for some time as the temporary headquarters of the Hong Kong government. The French mission and the country's leadership signed a contract to sell the building in 1952. Since 1953, it has consistently housed the Department of Education, the Victoria District Court, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Information Services. From 1997 to the present, the building has been occupied by the Hong Kong Court of Last Instance.
