35. He also built the first Anglican church in Singapore, St Andrew's, which was begun in 1835, but this structure was demolished in the 1850s having become unsafe due to lightning strikes.
In 1833, Coleman was appointed the Superintendent of Public Works. He was also the surveyor and overseer of convict labour. Coleman's house at 3 Coleman Street was demolished in December 1965 to make way for the current 21-storey Peninsula Hotel.
Coleman had earlier leased his house to Monsieur Dutronqouy in 1831, before his departure to England after 15 years of continuous work and 25 years in the East. While in Ireland on this trip he married Maria Frances Vernon, of Clontarf Castle, Dublin. Coleman found himself unable to settle down in Europe, and returned to Singapore with his bride in November 1843 at short notice. He took possession of another of his houses which stood at 1 and 2 Coleman Street. It was there that he died on 25 March 1844, at the age of 49. He was buried in a cemetery at the foot of Bukit Larangan, now Fort Canning Hill. The impressive memorial over his mortal remains still stands at Fort Canning Park.
Coleman's widow married attorney William Napier within months of her first husband's death. Napier adopted Coleman's infant son, George Vernon Coleman, who was born 27 December 1843. Coleman also had a daughter, Meda Elizabeth Coleman, by an unknown woman. This is unlikely to have been Takoyee Manuk, the sister of Gvork Manuk, even though Coleman had built a mansion for her adjacent to his own. Meda Coleman was born in Singapore on 10 March 1829 (or 1828). She was christened at St. Andrew's Cathedral on 30 July 1837 and died in Singapore in October 1907.
George Drumgoole Coleman's name lives on in the following entities in Singapore:
- Hancock (1986) pp. 2–6.
- Hancock (1986) pp. 8–9.
- Hancock (1986) pp. 12–15.
- Hancock (1986) pp. 22.
- Hancock (1986) pp. 22–28.
- Hancock (1986) p. 75.
- (Wright 251-2)
- Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1.
- Lee Geok Boi (2002), The Religious Monuments of Singapore, Landmark Books, ISBN 981-3065-62-1.
Nadia Wright (2003) "Respected Citizens:the History of Armenians in Singapore and Malaysia, Amassia Publishing. ISBN 0-9751082-0-4
Hancock, T.H.H. (1986). Coleman's Singapore. Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in association with Pelanduk Publications. 2126 7353.