WD2976

Rear view of Raffles’ house at Pematang Balam, West Sumatra, c.1823.

Probably by a Chinese or Javanese artist

Water-colour and gouache; 45 by 56.5 cm.

Note: The following description of Pematang Balam ('Dove's Rise' or 'Dove's Ridge') is given by Lady Raffles in her ‘Memoir:’ 'Sir Stamford's residence in the country was twelve miles from the town [Bencoolen], and though on first making the attempt to persuade people to live out of the settlement, no servant even could be induced to venture three miles after sunset, at this time (1823) there were various country-houses on the road to Permattam Ballam (his country-house), all of them surrounded by [spice] plantations. The clove trees as an avenue to a residence are perhaps unrivalled, their noble height, the beauty of their form, the luxuriance of their foliage, and above all the spicy fragrance with which they perfume the air, produce, in driving through a long line of them, a degree of exquisite pleasure only to be enjoyed in the clear light atmosphere of these latitudes.'

A cursory reading of this passage might suggest that Raffles pioneered spice cultivation at Pematang Balam whereas in fact the region had been developed in that respect by Edward Coles, Sr., when he planted out in virgin soil, and with marked success, nutmeg and clove seedlings imported into Bencoolen in 1798. It was Coles's estate at Pematang Balam, or part of it, which became in 1821 the property of the East India Company as well as Raffles's country residence. Before that time Mount Felix was regarded as the official government residence outside Fort Marlborough but it remained largely unoccupied after December 1807 when the Resident, Thomas Parr, was murdered there. Its ruinous state persuaded Raffles to purchase, on the Company's behalf, the house and grounds of Pematang Balam and Arungung for 10,500 Spanish dollars, and to sell the ground adjoining Mount Felix, together with several other small pieces, to meet the cost. In March 1821 he inquired if this arrangement met with the approval of the Supreme Government, or alternatively whether he might draw 150 Spanish dollars per month as house rent, in which case he meant to hold the property in his own name. In July 1821 the sale of the premises of Mount Felix was sanctioned by the Supreme Government, and approval was given for the purchase of the house and grounds of Pematang Balam as the residence of the chief authority of Fort Marlborlough.

It is not certain if Raffles built a new house at Pematang Balam or simply extended the existing structure, but it would appear to have been the latter. Writing to William Marsden on 15 May 1821 he stated: 'Our agriculture is extending, and much of my time is spent in the country. I am now completing a very comfortable residence; the grounds are in one direction about four miles long, and towards the hills about three miles wide. We hope to raise all our supplies on them, as the sawah land is very extensive, and I have upwards of two hundred head of fine cattle. Our roads are excellent. The distance is about thirteen miles from Marlborough; but I think the communication is much quicker than between Aldenham and London, as our friends think nothing of driving out to breakfast, and returning before the heat of the day.' At the beginning of the same month the naturalist Dr. William Jack wrote to Nathaniel Wallich in Calcutta: 'I am at present at a country residence of Sir Stamford's in the midst of forests and jungles, from which I am daily receiving [botanical] treasures.' From this statement it is clear that the house was in occupation by May 1821, but the impression is gained from other sources that the work of renovation was not completed until some time later. On 29 July 1821 Raffles wrote to his sister, Mary Ann Flint: 'We are living entirely in the country on our New Estate Permatang Balam, which we find delightfully cool and retired; we have a Noble Bed Room 32 feet by 22 with a Verandah & Venetian Doors all round, & as far as personal comfort goes have every thing we could wish.' It is largely this description which allows the present water-colour drawings to be identified with some confidence as depicting Raffles's country house at Pematang Balam.

Once the house was completed, Raffles spent most of his time in the country, extending agriculture and spice and coffee cultivation, as well as indulging his passion for natural history. 'I am planting coffee extensively at Permattam Ballam, and the country really begins to assume a new character . . .', he wrote to Marsden on 9 November 1821. 'We live in the country quite retired, and when the sun admits, which is not for many hours in the day, we are always in the grounds superintending our improvements. We call our house Permattam Ballam-the abode of peace.' A few months later he wrote to his cousin, the Revd. Dr. Thomas Raffles: 'We now pass our time in great retirement. I have lately completed a very comfortable country-house, and much of my time is taken up in agricultural pursuits.' The Dutchman, H. G. Baron Nahuijs van Burgst, who visited west Sumatra in December 1823, was very impressed by what he saw: 'A very attractive road twelve miles long runs from Fort Marlborough to Pamattam-balan, a Government coffee, nutmeg and clove plantation. Lieutenant-Governor Raffles has here a very good country house where he sometimes stays. Everything that grows here is in perfect order, neither pains nor expense are spared. Coffee thrive[s] here most luxuriantly, but what care is not bestowed on it! I have seen numerous young trees which are protected by attap screens against sun and wind. The landscape at Pamattam-balan is mountainous and is somewhat similar to some stretches of Java, but lacks the charm which we in Java have in our rice fields and shady kampongs.'