Stonyhurst Penang will be temporarily located at the historic Soonstead Mansion while the permanent site of the school at Straits Quay undergoes construction for the official opening in 2021.
Soonstead Mansion is one of the grand heritage mansions along Penang’s “Millionaires’ Row” with a waterfront. Soonstead Mansion, originally called Northam Lodge, was built by a prominent architect—James Stark—in 1911 for the rubber and sugar planter Heah Swee Lee. The house was a focus of George Town’s high society and during the housewarming party, the Straits Settlements Legislative Councillor A. R. Adams congratulated the owner on his “splendid domicile” and the architect on the “excellent results.” Its beautiful architecture was soon emulated by other mansions such as Lim Lean Teng’s Woodville which is also along the same stretch and Choong Lye Hock’s mansion along Macalister Road.