Wat Lum Mahachai Chumphon, Rayong Province, the location of King Taksin's army

Wat Lum or Wat Lum Mahachai Chumphon is located in Tambon Tha Pradu, Mueang Rayong District, Rayong Province. According to the temple's history, it was built around the year 2234, but there is no documentary evidence or evidence of art that can confirm it clearly. In the documentary evidence of the Thonburi Chronicles, Panchanthanumas (Chiem) version, which mentions the event when Phraya Wachiraprakarn (King Taksin the Great) led his army to break through the Burmese army's siege from Ayutthaya to the eastern provinces to gather his troops and return to restore Ayutthaya around the year 2309. When he arrived in Rayong, Phraya Wachiraprakarn's army set up camp and rested his troops at Wat Lum. While Phraya Wachiraprakarn was setting up camp at Wat Lum, the Rayong provincial officials suspected that Phraya Wachiraprakarn was a rebel who had fled from Ayutthaya. Since Ayutthaya had not yet fallen at that time, they decided to resist and led their troops to attack Phraya Wachiraprakarn's army by marching their troops across the bridge. “Wat Noen” approached Phraya Wachiraprakarn’s camp at Wat Lum but was defeated. Wat Noen, which appears in the document, is located to the north of Wat Lum. Currently, only the remains of a single pagoda remain. From the text that mentions Wat Lum in the document, it is assumed that Wat Lum or Wat Lum Mahachai Chumphon was probably built as a temple at least before 2309 and continued to be a temple during the Thonburi and Rattanakosin periods. The important ancient sites in Wat Lum Mahachai Chumphon include the Ubosot (old building), which is a rectangular brick and mortar building with a width of approximately 7 meters and a length of 15 meters. The front or east side has an extended roof and is made of brick and mortar as a wall to support the pillars and eaves, leaving entrances and exits on both sides. This type of Ubosot is a local characteristic of the early Rattanakosin period. This type of Ubosot is often found in temples in Rayong Province. Location: Tha Pradu Subdistrict, Mueang Rayong District, Rayong Province #Rayong attractions