 The road was also referred to as College Street in a lease granted by Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1823 for the Raffles Institution as it was the location of the Institution, but the name did not gain currency and was soon forgotten.In an 1826 lease, the road was called Cross Road.The road appears on G.D. Coleman's 1836 Map of Singapore as Brass Bassa Road, the spelling used until the late 19th century when it was changed to Bras Basah.