The building in 2020
General information
TypeConsulate
Architectural styleMoorish revival
AddressVictory Square
Town or cityTunis
CountryTunisia
Coordinates36°47′58″N 10°10′32″E / 36.799361°N 10.175484°E / 36.799361; 10.175484
Completed1914 (1914)
Plaque commemorating the building's use as a consulate and embassy

The former British Consulate is a building that housed the United Kingdom consulate in Tunis, Tunisia, later upgraded to an embassy, following Tunisia's independence in 1956. It is located on Victory Square (formerly Place de la Bourse), adjacent to the medina of Tunis.

History

Diplomatic relations between the Regency of Tunis and the United Kingdom began in 1662, with the signing of a peace treaty.[1] Early consuls included Francis Baker 1673–83 and Thomas Goodwyn who served from 1679 to 1698, James Chetwood briefly and then Goodwyn again until 1700.[2] Goodwyn was to marry the first British woman to live in Tunis, Edith Stedham, and their daughter was the first British girl born there. Goodwyn's 3,000 letters are extant.[3]

The first consulate building was erected in the seventeenth century. It was replaced by a second, in European style, in the early nineteenth century.[1]

The building on Victory Square was erected in 1914, in a Moorish revival style.[4]

In 2003, the embassy moved to the Berges du Lac and the former consulate building was returned to the Tunisian state.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Adnen El Ghali (2015). La routes des consuls: les territoires de la diplomatie à Tunis (in French). Paris: Les Points sur les i. p. 27. ISBN 978-2-35930-127-4.
  2. ↑ Cutter, Nat (2023-08-10), "Goodwyn, Thomas (d. 1722x27), merchant and diplomatist", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380754, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 2023-08-25
  3. ↑ "From enemies to neighbours: British merchants in the Maghreb | Aeon Essays". Aeon. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. ↑ Piaton, Claudine; Hueber, Juliette (2010). Tunis: architectures 1860-1960. Tunis: Elyzad. p. 79. ISBN 978-2-918371-08-3.
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