Chiang Mai a la Carte
Lampang: the Louis Leonowens House
Aug
Lampang: the Louis Leonowens House
Table of Contents
The Louis Leonowens House in Lampang
The Louis Leonowens House is the former residence of Louis T. Leonowens and the office of the Louis T.Leonowens company. “Baan Louis”, as it is known locally, is in the “forestry neighborhood’ of Lampang. The location is not far from the Wang River and the iconic Rachadapisek Bridge. Louis (1856-1919) was the son of Anna Leonowens. She was the British tutor to the children of King Mongkut (Rama IV).
Anna became famous through the musical and movie The King and I. From 1884 onwards Louis involved himself in the teak trade. He worked for the British Borneo Company and the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation. Louis himself is known as a colorful character. He spoke fluent Thai. People have described him as being and behaving like a Thai person. Louis grew up with King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). He was also one of the founding members of the Gymkhana Sports Club in Chiang Mai.
The Louis T.Leonowens Company
In 1905 Louis founded his own company: the Louis T.Leonowens Company. At that time construction started on the compound in Lampang, consisting of a residence and an office. Louis lived there until he sold the company. Staff were stationed in Raheng (Tak), Paknampho (Nakhon Sawan), Sukhotai and Sawankalok. The head office was in London, the country office in Bangkok. The Leonowens Company is still active today as a trading company. Apart from teak logging, the company also became an agent for imported whisky. It even has an office in Bangkok.
Louis goes back to the UK
Louis returned to the UK in 1913. He passed away in 1919 during the global influenza pandemic and buried at the Brompton Cemetery in London. In August 2019 I visited his grave, which was not easy. There are more than 35000 people buried in this beautiful cemetery. Only on my third visit I managed to find the grave. His second wife Reta May Leonowens , who passed away in 1936 is buried alongside him.
My first visit to the house
I visited this house for the first time in early 2016 to do research for the visit of Oliver Backhouse. Oliver’s grandfather worked as a forest manager for the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation in Lampang and in Chiang Mai. He had contacted me to arrange a guided tour to Lampang, Phrae, and Chiang Mai which I did. Kanokwan Uthongsap guided me and my British friends, Alan and Jenny Dovey, to the house in February 2016 on a preparatory trip for Oliver’s tour. That visit was the first of many in the following years.
The house was in a poor state at that time
Recognition of “Baan Louis”
Renovation of the Louis Leonowens house
The restoration of Baan Louis has been completed
I visited Lampang several time in 2020 and 2021. Every time I visited the Louis compound to check on the progress of the restoration of the house. The COVID-19 crisis also affected the restoration. Slowly but surely I noticed progress. In May 2021 they completed the restoration after which the local people started to turn the main house into a small museum about the history of the Tha Ma-O neighbourhood and of the teak industry.
The latest news is that the Municipality of Lampang is preparing a plan for the whole compound. I will keep you updated.
Some facts about the Louis House
The house is now a small museum and tourist information center for the Tha Ma-O community. At the moment the house is closed for the public until further notice.
Reference for this article
I visited the Louis House numerous times since 2016. The house became a symbol of the increasing interest of the local people in history and in the preservation of historic heritage houses in particular. The people who I owe thanks to are Oliver Backhouse, Prof.Kittichai Wattanikorn and K.Sodsri Kattiawong, representative of the Tha Ma-O community in Lampang.
Baan Louis features in these tours
Expeditions
Multi-day tours
Multi-day tours
Multi-day tours
