Wat Sao Chingcha, or the Monastery of the Swing Post, is a defunct temple located on Ayutthaya's city island in the Pratu Chai Sub-district, in the vicinity of the Chikun Bridge. This zone was the Brahman area of the city, and the site must have been likely a Brahman temple.
Based on a map of the 19th-century by an unknown surveyor, the monastery was situated on the east bank of Khlong Pratu Jin and partly along the road the French called "Rue des Maures" or "Moor Street", which is now more or less the present Pa Thon Rd (more or less as the ancient road did not have the width of the current lane). Wat Khok Rak (defunct) stood on its east, while Wat Khok Suea (defunct) stood in the south.
Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown. The 19th-century map indicates no existence of a chedi or prang.
The temple is not mentioned on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926 CE, though he mentions a location called Thewa Sathan. The temple's name refers to a post or posts of a swing. It could as thus be that on this location, a giant swing was installed in ancient days to enact the Brahman rite “Tri Yampawai”. The swing was an enormous permanent erection between 25 and 30 meters high, which stood on a grassy plot in front of the Brahman temples. It consisted of a pair of great red-painted teak pillars, like ship's masts, which slope slightly inwards, and were joined at the top by carved cross-pieces. [1] It is possible that the location called "Thewa Sathan" by Phraya Boran Rachathanin on his map drafted in 1926 CE was a part of the above temple. The construction of the present Pa Thon Rd, unfortunately, made away with a lot of historical evidence.
The swing must have been near the Thewa Sathan shrine at par with the Bangkok Giant Swing built in 1784 CE and positioned in front of the Thewa Sathan shrine in Bangkok by order of King Rama I to observe yearly the Brahmin New Year Ceremony (1). The ceremony was abolished in 1931 CE due to economic problems. (2) [2]
Assessing all the monastic structures in the zone demarcated by Chikun Road, Pa Thon Road, Pridi Banomyong Road and U-Thong Road is rather complex, as the position and name of the structures vary on different maps. On a 19th century map, there are 15 structures counted, while on the 20th century PBR map, there are 13 mentioned. There is inconsistency in the names and the positions. Even maps drafted by the Fine Arts Department, what I presume, based on excavations in the zone, shed no light on this matter. The positions of monastic structures can be asserted, but their ancient names will remain questioned forever.