Tamsui Former British Consulate (前淡水英國領事館) is located in Tamsui about 20 km (12.4 mi) from Taipei Station. The history can traced back to 1628 when the Spanish occupied northern Taiwan and built a wooden fort, Fort San Domingo (聖多明哥堡), at the hilltop overlooking Tamsui River. Later it was destroyed by the Spanish after losing the war to the Dutch in 1642. The Dutch rebuilt the fort at the same site in 1644 and renamed it as Fort Antonio (安東尼堡). Because the locals called the Dutch “ang mo” (meaning red haired people in local language), the local residents call it Ang Mo Fort (紅毛城) to this day. British government had rented the fort as an embassy between 1867 and 1950 during the official diplomatic with ROC and continuously used it as an unofficial embassy until 1972.
The fort was listed as a grade one National Historical Site in 1980 and was the oldest architecture in Taiwan. It is open to public as a museum. The site now includes Fort Antonio (formal British embassy), Formal British Consular Residence (領事官邸) and the South Gate built during Qing Dynasty in 1724. The fortress was built at the hilltop of the Tamsui River estuary because the location allowed them to protect and monitor the ships coming from Taiwan Strait into the inland Greater Taipei Area. The British Consular Residence is a beautiful red brick two-floor western style building. It has a red brick exterior with corridors, arches and inclined roofs, making it a traditional British Colonial-Style building. Taipei City Government updated its interior setup in recent years, including the living room, dining room, study room, staircases and others. We saw a unique service calling bell intercom that can receive the call from service bells installed in rooms on the property. The 13 m (42.7 ft) tall fort has 15.25 m2 (164 ft2) of space and 2 m (6.6 ft) walls. Today, you can go inside exploring the rooms with detailed information on-site.
The site is open to the public Tuesday to Sunday, 9am – 5pm. The admission is NT$80. You can include the nearby attractions in Tamsui and make it a whole day trip. The famous Tamsui Old Street (淡水老街) is within walking distance. It is easy to find coffee shops and restaurants nearby.
The fort was listed as a grade one National Historical Site in 1980 and was the oldest architecture in Taiwan. It is open to public as a museum. The site now includes Fort Antonio (formal British embassy), Formal British Consular Residence (領事官邸) and the South Gate built during Qing Dynasty in 1724. The fortress was built at the hilltop of the Tamsui River estuary because the location allowed them to protect and monitor the ships coming from Taiwan Strait into the inland Greater Taipei Area. The British Consular Residence is a beautiful red brick two-floor western style building. It has a red brick exterior with corridors, arches and inclined roofs, making it a traditional British Colonial-Style building. Taipei City Government updated its interior setup in recent years, including the living room, dining room, study room, staircases and others. We saw a unique service calling bell intercom that can receive the call from service bells installed in rooms on the property. The 13 m (42.7 ft) tall fort has 15.25 m2 (164 ft2) of space and 2 m (6.6 ft) walls. Today, you can go inside exploring the rooms with detailed information on-site.
The site is open to the public Tuesday to Sunday, 9am – 5pm. The admission is NT$80. You can include the nearby attractions in Tamsui and make it a whole day trip. The famous Tamsui Old Street (淡水老街) is within walking distance. It is easy to find coffee shops and restaurants nearby.
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James Huang - All rights reserved.
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