| WAT BAMRUNG THAM |
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Wat Bamrung Tham is an active monastery located off the city island in the
northwestern area at Ban Mai sub-district in Moo 4.
In situ is a new monastic complex and an old deconsecrated ordination hall (Th: ubosot)
in the Early Ayutthaya style. The old ubosot has a single elevated porch with two entries
in the east and a back door on the western side. There are three rectangular windows on
the northern and southern sides. The roof is two-tiered, which is an architecture feature
which took root in the Middle Ayutthaya period. On the western side of the ubosot
stands a two-rabbeted angled chedi. The old monastic structures are surrounded by a
wall (Th: Kamphaeng kaew or crystal wall), separating the monastic world from the
secular world.
The new ubosot was built in the Late Ayutthaya style. It is a remarkable very slender hall
with a three-tiered roof. The gable is beautifully decorated with an image of Vishnu riding
Garuda. There are five rectangular windows on the longest sides. The hall has two
porches with two entries and is also surrounded by a wall. Four columns on each porch
support the roof. The structure stands in a northwest-southeast alignment.
Wat Bamrung Tham was definitely in the Ayutthayan era a small local temple serving the
community in its vicinity. The temple grounds expanded over time. Historical data about
the monastery and its construction are unknown. The site is not indicated on Phraya
Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926, as the temple is located at the outskirts of
Muang Ayutthaya.
northwestern area at Ban Mai sub-district in Moo 4.
In situ is a new monastic complex and an old deconsecrated ordination hall (Th: ubosot)
in the Early Ayutthaya style. The old ubosot has a single elevated porch with two entries
in the east and a back door on the western side. There are three rectangular windows on
the northern and southern sides. The roof is two-tiered, which is an architecture feature
which took root in the Middle Ayutthaya period. On the western side of the ubosot
stands a two-rabbeted angled chedi. The old monastic structures are surrounded by a
wall (Th: Kamphaeng kaew or crystal wall), separating the monastic world from the
secular world.
The new ubosot was built in the Late Ayutthaya style. It is a remarkable very slender hall
with a three-tiered roof. The gable is beautifully decorated with an image of Vishnu riding
Garuda. There are five rectangular windows on the longest sides. The hall has two
porches with two entries and is also surrounded by a wall. Four columns on each porch
support the roof. The structure stands in a northwest-southeast alignment.
Wat Bamrung Tham was definitely in the Ayutthayan era a small local temple serving the
community in its vicinity. The temple grounds expanded over time. Historical data about
the monastery and its construction are unknown. The site is not indicated on Phraya
Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926, as the temple is located at the outskirts of
Muang Ayutthaya.
| Text & photographs by Tricky Vandenberg - December 2009 |
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| (Old ubosot - view from the east) |
| (Old ubosot - view from the south) |
| (Old ubosot - view within) |
| (New ubosot - view from southeast) |
