The Royal Ipoh Clubhouse at Ipoh Padang

The Royal Ipoh Clubhouse (Kelab Ipoh Diraja) is the red-roofed building at the background of Ipoh Padang. It is located at Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.

According to local historians, The Royal Ipoh Club was established in 1895, making it about 115 years old now. It could have been established much earlier than 1895 but records of its history were lost during the Japanese Occupation in World War 2 (1941-1945) when the premise was used by the Japanese Imperial Army as a laundry house for the officers living at the nearby St. Michael’s Institution.

This black-and-white clubhouse was set up with contributions from the public in 1898 in commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Coronation. This building has since been declared a heritage building in the city of Ipoh.

Initially, the Club was only opened to "Whites" as was the practise during colonial times. During the day, the rich played sports like cricket and croquet and at night, there were grand social parties and gatherings.

The very first Malaysian to be invited to use the Club was the Sultan of Perak. The first Malaysian to become member of the Club was Eu Tong Sen, a tin miner and founder of the Eu Yan Sang Medical chain of shops and franchsies. Eu donated the present “Long Bar”, which was cut from a single tree and which is still in existence at the Club till today.

After our country's independence in 1957, more and more Malaysias were accepted as members. Today, there is no longer any discrimination and the public can enjoy social and sports activities at the Ipoh Club and Ipoh Padang. Some of the facilities available at the club include 3-star hotel rooms, games room for playing snooker and darts, gym, dance floor, library, conference rooms and dining restaurants.  For more information, please visit their website, here.

Can you recognise the Tudor styled roof of the building?

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