C.H.I.J.M.E.S. Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) is a historic building complex. This complex of convent buildings has a Gothic-style chapel. It was used as a Catholic convent for 132 years, with Caldwell House constructed in 1840–1841 and the chapel in 1904. The chapel, now a multi-purpose hall, is known as CHIJMES Hall and Caldwell House, now an art gallery, have both been gazetted as national monuments. The complex has been restored for commercial purposes as a dining, shopping and entertainment centre with ethnic restaurants, shops and a function hall, providing a backdrop for musicals, recitals, theatrical performances and weddings. In October 1852, four French nuns arrived in Penang after having travelled overland from their native country in caravans. Reverend Mother Mathilde Raclot, leader of this group, was to become a key personality in the early history of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus on Victoria Street. On 2 February 1854, the nuns sailed to Singapore from Penang on a mission to build a school for girls, now known as CHIJ Secondary Toa Payoh. On 5 February 1854, they reached the island's shores and took up residence at the first convent quarters, the now gazetted Caldwell House. The nuns began taking in pupils only ten days after moving in, establishing the first CHIJ school in Singapore. Reverend Mother Mathilde staffed her school with sisters from the parent Society, the Institute of the Charitable Schools of the Holy Infant Jesus of Saint Maur. She dedicated 20 years of her life turning the convent into a school, an orphanage and refuge for women. Two classes were conducted, one for fee-paying students and another for orphans and the poor. Slowly, the nuns managed to restore the house into a simple but austere residence. (Memory collected from "Our Memories" Photo Album Competition organised by ITE College West in collaboration with the Singapore Memory Project in 2013)