The Straits Chinese Church that became the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church started in 1890, when a small group of about 20 Malay-speaking Straits Chinese started meeting at Sophia Blackmore’s house at Sophia Road. Blackmore came to Singapore from Australia and was the first female Methodist missionary to work here.
From 1891, the Straits Chinese Methodists congregated at the Christian Institute at Middle Road. Hence, when the congregation bought the building to establish their own church in 1898, it was known as the Malay Church as well as the Middle Road Church. It was also called the Straits Chinese Church in the 1910s-20s.
By 1927, the congregation of the Malay Church had grown significantly and a larger site was needed. The present location along Kampong Kapor Road was identified for this purpose. The current church building was designed by the architectural firm of Swan and Maclaren and constructed in 1929-30. The church was then declared the Bishop Bickley Memorial in remembrance of Bishop Bickley whose family donated a large amount towards its construction. The unique quasi-Art Deco design of the building has made the church a landmark in Little India, and it is also a conserved building.
By 1952, the church had become the second largest English-speaking Methodist Church in Singapore with 1,000 members. In 1957, recognising that it catered to a broader congregation than just the Straits Chinese, it took on its current name of Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. Today, the church conducts Peranakan, English, Mandarin and Tamil services, a reminder of the rich cultural diversity that characterises the Little India district.
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