Welcome to the SPOM heritage page

Photo credit: Gerald Tay

A very warm welcome to the Senior Police Officers’ Mess, known as SPOM for short. The black and white bungalow you are in houses SPOM. It was once a residence for senior British police officers deployed to uphold law and order in colonial Singapore.

The earliest record of SPOM can be found in the reports of the Public Works Department, dated January 1931, which stated that the building was completed in that year.

In the 1950s, SPOM was the de-facto venue for dining, networking and hosting of guests among the senior-ranking officers.  This tradition has continued to this day with informal and formal gatherings being organised at SPOM.

The SPOM building is unique as its architecture is from a bygone era.  When you move around the building, observe the gutters, concrete louvres and the spiral staircases.  These building features  were unique to those built in the early 1900s.

The heritage of SPOM has been recognised by the National Heritage Board (NHB).  The heritage marker, on the right when you exit the building, indicates SPOM as one of the highlights of the Balestier Heritage Trail.