Custom House
Encyclopedia
The customs house was typically located in a seaport or in a city on a major river with access to the ocean. These cities acted as a port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
into a country. The government had officials at such locations to collect taxes and regulate commerce.
Due to advances in electronic information systems, the increased volume of international trade and the introduction of air travel, the customs house is now often a historical anachronism. There are many examples of buildings around the world whose former use was as a custom house but that have since been converted for other use, such as museums or civic buildings.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, since 1386 the phrase custom house is used instead of the plural customs house. This was after a "Custom House
Custom House, City of London
The Custom House, on the north bank of the Thames in the City of London was formerly in use for the collection of customs duties. It was in use for many centuries and rebuilt on a number of occasions....
" was erected at Wool Wharf in Tower Ward, to contain just the officials of the Great Custom on Wool and Woolfells. The singular form was used even though in later years the Custom House was the location of other Customs officials as well.