Wat Pa Phat, or the Monastery of the Fan Quarter, was situated in the southwestern area of Ayutthaya’s city island in Pratu Chai Sub-district and the Ayutthaya Historical Park. The temple was located at the confluence of Khlong Chakrai Yai (1) and Khlong Tha Phra (2). The monastery stood on the west bank of Khlong Chakrai Yai and the south bank of Khlong Tha Phra.
Wat Pi Rai (defunct) stood in the north, opposite Khlong Tha Phra, while Wat Phrai (defunct) was south.
The ancient site was cleared in the early 1970s during construction works of an expansion project of the (former) Ayutthaya Agriculture School (Withayalai Kasetrakam). There are no traces of ground-level foundations or brickwork, and I classified the temple as defunct. [1]
Historical data about the monastery and its construction is unknown.
The monastery got its name from the locality where it stood and where small and large fans were made from sugar palm leaves. In the area of Wat Pa Phat was also a fresh market called Fan Quarter Market. [2]
Wat Pa Phat is indicated on Engelbert Kaempfer’s map. Kaempfer was a medical doctor working for the Dutch VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) who surveyed the city of Ayutthaya in June 1690 CE.
A 19th-century map by an unknown surveyor denominates the location of Wat Pa Phat as Wat Yi Rai. This Wat Yi Rai sits opposite Wat Salak, on the south bank of Khlong Tha Phra. Through the years, there has been a mix-up of the names of the different sites in this area.
The site shows on Phraya Boran Ratchathanin's map drafted in 1926 CE. Phraya Boran was the Superintendent Commissioner of Monthon Ayutthaya from 1925 till 1929 CE.
Wat Pa Phat figures on the Fine Arts Department maps of 1974 and 1993 CE, but not anymore on the 2007 CE GIS map of Ayutthaya.
Wat Pa Phat must have been located in the approximate geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 47.65" N, 100° 33' 21.19" E.
Footnotes:
(1) Khlong Chakrai Yai is part of a waterway running through the west of Ayutthaya from north to south. The canal was the extension of Khlong Pak Tho and ran from the Lam Hoei Bridge to the Chakrai Yai Gate opposite Wat Phutthaisawan. The canal was a shortcut through the oxbow of the Lopburi River and connected the old Lopburi River, present Khlong Mueang in the north with - what is today - the Chao Phraya River in the south. Ban Chakrai was a village located on the city island but outside the city walls.
(2) Khlong Tha Phra, also known as Khlong Klaep, is a defunct canal situated on Ayutthaya's city island. Some stretches of this old canal still can be seen today on the western side. The canal had its mouth at the old Lopburi River, today renamed the Chao Phraya River. Here stood one of the eleven water gates around the island called Pratu Khlong Tha Phra. The canal ended at the confluence with Khlong Chakrai Yai. Beyond this confluence, it continued in an eastern direction as Khlong Pa Mo and joined the Pratu Thep Mi Canal. There is evidence that this canal continued eastwards in a straight line to join Khlong Makham Riang.
