A more than 100 year old historic house that once served as the residence of the Netherlands ambassador to Thailand has been demolished in Bangkok, despite efforts by members of the Dutch community to save it.
Nederlandse Vereniging Thailand, the Dutch association in Thailand, posted photos and video of the demolition and the rubble left at the site on its Facebook page yesterday, October 3.
The association wrote:
“It happened all of a sudden, yesterday afternoon. The historic house, the former residence of the Netherlands Ambassador, is no longer there.
“All our efforts to save it have had no effect. I am devastated, as are many others in the Dutch community in Bangkok.
“I was able to capture the pile of rubble left behind after the demolition team had gone. Below are also some of the last photos I took of the residence, shortly before our previous Ambassador left. It still has to sink in…”
The house was originally the residence of Dr Alphonse Poix, a French royal physician who served King Chulalongkorn.
The building was more than 100 years old and designed in a colonial architectural style. It stood two storeys high, with a three-storey tower section, layered roofing and carved wooden details.
After Poix moved out in 1913, Prince Boworadet inherited the property.
Prince Boworadet later went abroad following political events in 1933, although the house remained within the family.
Over the following years, the property was used for several purposes, including as accommodation for Catholic priests, premises for an association of people who had studied in Britain, and accommodation for British soldiers near the end of the Second World War.
After the war, the Dutch government purchased the property in 1948 and used the house as the ambassador’s residence and as part of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Thailand.
The wider property covers about 20 rai on Wireless Road, an area of Bangkok with high land values, and was later put up for sale.
The demolition brings an end to more than a century of history at the site, with members of Bangkok’s Dutch community expressing regret over the loss.
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