Wat Bamrung Tham

Wat Bamrung Tham, or the Monastery of Keeping up the Dharma, is an active monastery located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya in the Ban Mai Sub-district.

In situ are a new monastic complex and an old deconsecrated ordination hall in the early Ayutthaya style (1351-1488 CE). 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, an architectural feature that took root in the middle Ayutthaya period (1488-1629 CE). On the western side of the ubosot stands a two-rabbeted angled chedi. The old monastic structures are surrounded by a wall (Th: Kamphaeng Kaeo or crystal wall), separating the monastic and secular worlds.

The new ubosot was built in the late Ayutthaya style (1629-1767 CE). 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 surrounded by a wall. Four columns on each porch support the roof. The structure stands in a northwest-southeast alignment.

Ayutthaya Historical Research