Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the construction free of charge. The Borneo Company bought the land on which the river-
side church stood, and Captain Bush then bought the land from the Borneo Company to
extend the Bangkok Dock. The hymns of praise were replaced by the clangour of the dock-
yard, and everyone was happy.
Christ Church, built on Convent Road by the Anglican community.
Building of the church began in August and was completed early in 1905. Christ
Church was chosen as the name, suggestions of saints' names being dismissed as con-
scious rejections of popery, and the dedication service was held on the evening of Sunday,
30
th
April. Today, the church stands as an island of tranquillity on the maelstrom of
Sathorn Road. Built in a simple Gothic style with plaster-covered brickwork in the walls
and pillars, the church stands on a foundation of teak logs and has a tiled roof supported
by teak timbers. The sanctuary is tiled in marble. There are two aisles, north and south,
with an organ at the east end of the north aisle and the vestry in a corresponding position
on the south aisle. The roof rises to 13.7 metres (45 ft) and the square tower to 15.8 metres
(52 ft). Five handsomely carved teak ceiling fans were installed on each side of the nave in
1919, but these days air-conditioning is included. A bell, tuned to the note of F, hangs in
the tower. Services are held in English and in Thai, and up to 450 worshippers can be ac-
commodated. Christ Church is part of the Anglican Church in Thailand and comes under
the Diocese of Singapore.
Convent Road takes its name from St Joseph Convent School, founded in 1904 by the
Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres, initially to meet the needs of Europeans living in Siam.
Today the school is one of the leading private schools in Bangkok, noted especially for its
English Programme. The Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres had first arrived in Bangkok a
few years earlier, in 1898, to take care of St Louis Hospital, which had been founded by
Archbishop Louis Vey, who was the Apostolic Vicar of the Roman Catholic Mission in
Siam. St Louis Hospital is today a thriving non-profit private hospital that occupies 32
hectares of land on the other side of Sathorn Road. Directly opposite the high wall of St
Joseph Convent is another high wall, topped with high railings, behind which is a small
