He taught for approximately two years, and then on 4 May 1896, as a scholarship student with the Thai Ministry of Education, he left Thailand to continue his studies at Borough Road College in Isleworth, west London (later incorporated into Brunel University), under the direction of Sir Robert Laurie Morant.

After resigning from government service, Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri collaborated with his eldest daughter, Chailai Thephasadin Na Ayudhaya, to convert his family home into Satree Chulanak School to promote education and provide scholarships for talented young students.

Following his marriage to Lady Tawin Salak, the young couple were given a grand new home as a wedding present by the bride's father, Phraya Sriphuripricha [th], in the Nang Loeng neighbourhood in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, part of Bangkok's old town.

By reopening the house to the public as an art-space-cum-civic-centre, the Bangkok 1899 project commemorates the life and work of Chaophraya Thammasakmontri, and continues his idea of using education as a means of social, national, cultural and individual development.

Creative Migration, a non-profit international arts organization based in Los Angeles and Bangkok with major support from The Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Motor Company Fund, spearheaded the restoration.