WAT SANGKHA PAT





Wat Sangkha Pat is a restored temple ruin situated within the Ayutthaya Historical Park in the Bueng Phra Ram area in the Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The ruin is south of Wat Langkha Dam, west of Wat Talapat, north of Wat Phong (defunct) and east of Wihan Phra Thi Nang Yen. (1)


Wat Sangkha Pat stood on the west bank of a small canal called Lam Khu Pak Sa (Lit. the ditch to the pond's mouth). This small watercourse diverted water from the old Lopburi River (a stretch called today Khlong Mueang) through the Maha Thera Mai Sae tunnel gate in the city wall and through the area presently called Bueng Phra Ram. The water ran through earthenware pipes under the Elephant Road, passed Wat Yan Sen and Wat Chum Saeng, and then ran under the Palace Road to continue further south to join the Pratu Thep Mi Canal. [1]


There is only a chedi remaining of Wat Sangkha Pat. The chedi stands on an octagonal base tapering upward. The dome is also octagonal, tapering upward in four layers and has an entry in the east, facing Lam Khu Pak Sa. On top of the four layers is another octagonal brickwork with stucco niches and columns filled with damaged standing Buddha images of which the heads are missing. The chedi was built in a style associated with the Haripunchai or Lan Na kingdoms. There is no history found on Wat Sangkha Pat. The "Master Plan for Tourism Development of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and the Neighbouring Provinces" mentions that there were only three temples left in Bueng Phra Ram in 1988 CE, all in poor condition: Wat Nok, Wat Sangkha Pat and Wat Langkha Dam. [2]


The restored chedi of Wat Sangkha Pat is in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 18.44" N, 100° 33' 55.68" E.


Footnotes:


(1) Today Wat Talapat bears the name of Wat Phong, while the initial location of Wat Phong was south of Wat Sangkha Pat. I presume a denomination error from the Fine Arts Department in earlier years.





References:


[1] Athibai Phaenthi Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya kap khamwinitjai khong Phraya Boran Racha Thanin. Explanation of the map of the Capital of Ayutthaya with a ruling of Phraya Boran Rachathanin. Revised 2nd edition and Geography of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Ton Chabab print office. Nonthaburi (2007). p. 53.

[2] Tourism Authority of Thailand (1988). Master Plan for Tourism Development of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and the Neighbouring Provinces. Tourism Authority of Thailand. pp. 4-58.