| WAT NANG KRAI (วัดนางกราย) |
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| Text, maps & photograph by Tricky Vandenberg - March 2010 Updated January 2014 |
Wat Nang Krai was located off the city island in the southern area of Ayutthaya in
Samphao Lom sub-district. The temple was situated in or near the former Cochin
Chinese settlement on the south bank of the (present) Chao Phraya River (1) and
east of Khlong Takhian. The St Joseph church stood on its west, while Wat Daeng on its
south. Wat Phutthai Sawan and Wat Tamnak was on its east side.
Wat Nang Krai is shown on a mid-19th century map as "Wat Nai Krai" and depicted
with a chedi; but today there are no visible traces of this former temple in situ.
Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown.
The site is indicated on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926 and located in
Geo Coord: 14° 20' 18.01" N, 100° 33' 12.97" E
Footnotes:
(1) In the Ayutthayan era, the present Chao Phraya River must have been the old
Lopburi River as the Chao Phraya River at that time was situated there, where the Noi
River runs now. Steve Van Beeck writes that "It was not until 1857 that an
alternative path was created [for the Chao Phraya River]. A 5-kilometre channel
was dug from the entrance of Wat Chulamani to Ban Mai. The river responded by
following this new course and abandoning the old one, in effect making a
secondary river of the stretch that ran from Ban Mai, and into the Chao Phya Noi.
Half as wide as the river above and below it, the 1857 Ban Mai shunt funnels the
Chao Phya down to Ayutthaya." [1]
References:
[1] The Chao Phya - River in Transition - Steve Van Beeck (1994) - page 12.
Samphao Lom sub-district. The temple was situated in or near the former Cochin
Chinese settlement on the south bank of the (present) Chao Phraya River (1) and
east of Khlong Takhian. The St Joseph church stood on its west, while Wat Daeng on its
south. Wat Phutthai Sawan and Wat Tamnak was on its east side.
Wat Nang Krai is shown on a mid-19th century map as "Wat Nai Krai" and depicted
with a chedi; but today there are no visible traces of this former temple in situ.
Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown.
The site is indicated on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926 and located in
Geo Coord: 14° 20' 18.01" N, 100° 33' 12.97" E
Footnotes:
(1) In the Ayutthayan era, the present Chao Phraya River must have been the old
Lopburi River as the Chao Phraya River at that time was situated there, where the Noi
River runs now. Steve Van Beeck writes that "It was not until 1857 that an
alternative path was created [for the Chao Phraya River]. A 5-kilometre channel
was dug from the entrance of Wat Chulamani to Ban Mai. The river responded by
following this new course and abandoning the old one, in effect making a
secondary river of the stretch that ran from Ban Mai, and into the Chao Phya Noi.
Half as wide as the river above and below it, the 1857 Ban Mai shunt funnels the
Chao Phya down to Ayutthaya." [1]
References:
[1] The Chao Phya - River in Transition - Steve Van Beeck (1994) - page 12.
| (Site view of the defunct Wat Nang Krai) |
| (Extract of a 19th century map - Courtesy Sam Chao Phraya Museum) |
| (Extract of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map - Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region) |
