King Edward Vii Hall

The forerunner of King Edward VII Hall was the old F.M.S. Hostel at Sepoy Lines. This was built in 1916 by the government of the Federated Malay States. The hostel was an imposing four-storey building on top of a hill overlooking the General Hospital. It had rooms for 72 male students, most of whom were attending courses at the King Edward VII College of Medicine, Singapore. The hostel was closed in 1956. Female students during the F.M.S. years stayed in a bungalow at Grange Road, quaintly called “Holne Chase”, an all-female hostel. The grounds were beautiful with huge trees and flowering shrubs. There were also tennis and badminton courts. On 30th November 1957, a new hostel was declared open by the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman. The new Hall of Residence was named “King Edward VII Hall” in honour of the old KEVII College of Medicine, which had ceased to exist as it had become the Faculty of Medicine for the University of Malaya. The Hall housed more than 250 students in two blocks. 25th November 1988 marked the official grand opening ceremony of KEVII Hall at the NUS Kent Ridge campus, graced by their President Wee Kim Wee amidst much celebrations. The new King Edward VII Hall took in the most number of non-medical students in its history in order to broaden the student profile of its residents, a practice evident in the diversity of current KEVII hall residents. The sprawling new hostel overlooks the National University Hospital.