customs

Terrain

General Condition

It is an ancient building that is being renovated into a large hotel. There is a conference room banquet hall with a restaurant

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Chao Phraya River

Geological conditions

Holocene sediments

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Since Thailand signed the Bowring Treaty with the British government in 1855 during the reign of King Rama IV, it has opened the door to trade with Western countries. As a result, Thailand has to establish a customs HOUSE or a tax house to collect import tax at a rate of three percent (hundreds and threes) and export tax as specified in the contract. During the reign of King Rama V, he reformed the finances and moved the tax office from Pak Khlong Talat to Bang Rak. On the Chao Phraya River, on an area of ​​​​4 rai, next to the French Embassy Construction began from 1886 to 1888 during the reign of King Chulalongkorn, according to the word of Phraya Phasakornwong (Pon Bunnag), the first Director-General of the Customs Department. Constructed as a 3-storey building with a 4-storey central porch, neoclassical architecture and symmetry following the Neo-Palladian way, 3 buildings are connected in an I-shape. 2013) Joachim Grassy (Joachim Grassi/Gioachino Grassi), an Italian-Austrian-French architect. As a designer and builder

The customs building is the customs department's office since its completion until 1949. The Customs Department moved to Khlong Toei, the customs office was changed to the Royal Thai Police. Until 1959, it was used as the Bang Rak Fire Police Station. until moving out

due to the signing of the agreement "The development project on the land plot, the location of the tax factory, Roi Chak Sam" between the Ministry of Finance and U City Public Company Limited, U City, together with the Fine Arts Department. On October 9, 2019, the customs office began to conduct an archaeological survey and record and study the architecture in detail to document the historical evidence and the original structure of the building in detail. The original data and structures discovered from the excavation will be used as a reference for the restoration of the customs building and future construction of new buildings within the site. The development project at Ratchaphatsadu plot that is located at Phai Roi Chak Sam factory It will take approximately 6 years to complete, including archaeological excavations. Restoration of 3 existing buildings with reinforcement of the structure and strength. exterior decoration and interior Including the construction of another new building, it is expected that all operations will be completed by 2025 with an investment budget of more than 4,600 million baht and in the next step of the project development It will cover the improvement of the area to be a conference room. banquet hall with a restaurant and complete facilities (Siam Rath 2019)

customs office layout It consists of 3 important buildings, namely

1. The middle building or customs building (customhouse) is a large, rectangular building stretching parallel to the Chao Phraya River. The hipped roof is made of shingle with cylindrical Chinese tiles in the form of split bamboo and banana cladding tiles, which is a blend of Western and Chinese architectural features. This roof covers the entire building without eaves. The building looks like a large 3-storey brick building in the middle, adding another floor above it as a booth to install a large round clock. The customs building is a re-use of the classical architectural style, i.e. a long rectangular plan stretching parallel to the Chao Phraya River, with a front corridor comprising arched windows along the entire building. The ground floor is a simple rectangular window arch, while the 2nd to 3rd floors are arched windows. The balcony's edge is a stucco ball with pillars or pseudo-pillars interspersed with the line of the windows in the upper middle, forming a pediment. Install a round clock. Large, if traveling by water, you will see and hear the clock telling the hour even in the distance. Above the gable there is a stucco visor depicting the royal seal of the country, known as the coat of arms, which was used in the reign of King Rama V. (Arm seal) some parts have been broken, and it is also used as a symbol of the customs as well. The architectural design provides for the symmetrical balance of the two elements and the emphasis on the facade. (facade) The building structure is a western-style load-bearing wall system. It can be seen from the use of an arc (arch) channel as a support and weight transfer. The building wall is therefore quite thick, approximately 80 to 90 centimeters in size. There is a doorway in the middle of the front of the building. The large entrance is the main entrance to the building. When walking in, you will find a large hall in the middle. There is a main staircase going up and down inside the building in the form of a hardwood staircase that can go up two ways, connected with a carved wooden railing. decorated with coconut What is interesting is that the central part of the building is connected by a main staircase, leaving space for a hall in each floor of the building. Originally, the third floor from the ground floor of the Customs House was used as a venue for foreigners' dances for 3-4 times as well as the celebrations when King Chulalongkorn returned from Europe for the first time with the room. The upstairs hall used as a venue for this dance is adorned with large panels of mirrors and oil paintings, the ceiling hanging a glass chandelier is currently absent. The exterior walls of the current building are smooth plastered on the ground floor with alternating square-shaped doors and windows. Periodically, the interior walls are plastered, smooth, painted. The division of the space inside the building is generally separated from each other by a balcony in front of the room as a connection. The use of doors and windows is a representation of the style that was prevalent at the time as the doors were double-opened with push-button planks. The windows are solid panes mixed with louvered windows in the form of a semicircular arch, decorated with glass. Wood ceilings and ceilings are generally horizontal battens. Within the central hall of each floor, the ceiling is slightly recessed. A bouquet of lamps has been installed on the ceiling, which is now lost. As for the building's base, it is an ancient style, that is, it is a raised platform. The original bottom base is probably covered with large logs in a grid like a raft base, and then bricks up to support the weight of the building to prevent the bulging of the soil along the shore. River base building at ground level, ground floor brick masonry outside the base decorated with stucco cornice wire along the perimeter of the building without vents. Inside, the floor of the building looks like a wooden floor made of hardwood that alternates horizontally across the width of the original room. This wooden floor should have been polished smooth. Currently, most of the floor has been damaged. (Department of Fine Arts 2021)

2. Two-storey building on the north side It is located near the Marine Police and the Haroon Mosque. placed perpendicular to the river There are two floors as the import and departure tax office. (There is a letter of Import and Export Department on the gable of the building) looks like a brick building with mortar. The building is placed in the east-west direction. The roof structure is wood-shingled, banana cladding and bamboo-cylindrical tiles. The stucco pattern on the door looks like a solid sash, wooden planks pushing a curved arched window. The window is a solid sash and a solid sash mixed with wooden slats. The curved light channel is decorated with herringbone glass like the radiance of the sun. There is a ladder up. Down inside the building on the west side, the stucco base is decorated with a lotus wire along the base of the building (Department of Fine Arts, 2021)

3. Two-storey building on the south side Located near the French embassy, ​​it is a two-story, brick-and-mortar building oriented east-west or perpendicular to the river. In the past, it was used as a rice tax office and foreign post office.The roof structure of banana cladding and bamboo cylindrical tiles from the view of the building on the south side of the road facing the entrance to the embassy gate area will see interesting decorations of the building. is similar to a hipped building with a gable decorated with slightly curved stucco patterns (Segmenta arch) The west gable gable is a gable shape. The walls of the building surrounding the building are decorated with stucco, Western art. The door looks like a solid sash, push-up plank slats, and a solid sash in the middle, mixed with wooden balustrades. Arched windows and panes are solid and solid, mixed with wooden slats, light slats decorated with openwork patterns in the arches and rectangular niches decorated with balustrades. In the lower part of the building or the decorative plaster base is a cornice wire along the base of the building (Department of Fine Arts, 2021)

The excavation in 2006 at the Treasury Department Ministry of Finance As the legal owner of the building has opened for bidding proposals and contests for a project for development and improvement of the customs area or the Phasi Roi Chak Sam factory to make a large hotel Because the customs are ancient monuments It is imperative that an archaeological excavation be carried out by the World Heritage Company Limited at that time. Found important archaeological evidence such as

1. Brick beam line of Nai Nut's house.

Mr. Nut Kaew Borirak was a Roi Chak Sam tax manager at the beginning of the reign of King Rama V. It looks like a large group of Chinese-style buildings. Has been inherited from his father, Chao Phraya Phonthep (Long), who has Chinese descent. Later in the year 1883
has renovated the house of Mr. Nut food Borirak. "Office of the Royal Tax Factory"

From excavation, the house's beams were found as two brick lines, with a width of about 40 - 50 centimeters. Some parts of this brick line were paved with bricks and clay tiles from the characteristics of the foundations found when compared to the buildings. Saranrom Palace assumes that it is a 2-storey building.

The brick beams found are assumed to be part of the Nai Nut Kharb Borirak house that was originally renovated into a royal tax building and was partially demolished in the construction of a customs house. From comparing the original building plan with the location of the brick beams found, it was found that the brick beams were positioned similarly to the floor plan of Mr. Nut Khanap Borirak's Chinese-style house building.

2. Brick beam line of Mr. Vet's house (Wet Watcharapai)

Mr. Wet (Wet Watcharaphai) is the grandson of Chao Phraya Phonthep (Long). Mr. Wet's house is located on the north side of Ban Nai Nut Khanaborirak. It looks like a large group of Chinese houses. It is similar in size to Mr. Nuttakarn Borirak, in the later days, gave his house to be part of the Phasi Luang plantation area.

The appearance of the beams found is a single brick line, with a width of approximately 40 - 50 centimeters. From the characteristics of the foundation found in comparison with the Saranrom Palace building, it is assumed that it is a 2-storey building.
and roof tiled with clay tiles. This is because a large number of clay roof tiles were found in the excavation area.