The Creation and Conservation of Saint Paul Church, Thailand

Abstract

There are very few Catholic churches in Thailand that conserve wooden structures.Take St.Paul in Muang District, Chachoengsao Province located on the east of Bangkok as an example, it was built by Bishop Pallegoix Jean-Baptise the Vicar Apostolic of Siam in 1840. The first church was made of bamboo and the other wood. In 1873, Father Schmidt Francois-Joseph bought a piece of land and built the third one with concrete including wooden structures such as priest quarters, a bell tower, a rest pavilion on the Bang Pakong River, a granary, a school building, all of which were designed by a French priest in colonial architecture and constructed by Chinese workers. As the time passes, heritage buildings have been deteriorating. However, their conservation plans have been launched, and most of them have been implemented. Most of the structures were constructed of teak that can adapt itself to the weather. Another property of wood is that it can be deconstructed and reconstructed with or without changing its former architectural style.