Carnarvon Lane, George Town

Lorong Carnarvon

Carnarvon Lane, or Lorong Carnarvon, is a minor road in George Town. Part of it lies within the core zone of the World Heritage Site, with the rest in the buffer zone. It links Carnarvon Street on one end, with Toh Aka Lane on the other.

From the earliest days of George Town - late 18th to the 19th centuries - there was a Malay settlement where Carnarvon Lane is located today. This settlement, or kampung, stretches from Malay Street to Armenian Street. Carnarvon Lane began as a village lane that runs right through the settlement. It was known in Hokkien as Kam Kong Lai, meaning "within the kampung". Like Carnarvon Street, it was named after Henry Herbert, the 4th Earl of Carnarvon, who was Secretary of State for the Colonies - the British cabinet official in charged of the colonies - between 6 July, 1866 and 8 March, 1867.