During the reign of the celebrated King Chulalongkorn,
renowned as the "Great Well-beloved Monarch,"
who was King Rama V of the Chakri Dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand,
a devoted gentleman from Burma by the name of U San Ohn
came to the city of Lampang and settled here,
making his livelihood as a timber merchant.
Being devoted to the Three Gems,
of a generous nature and desirous of the welfare of the Sasana,
U San Ohn, in the Buddhist Era 2437 (Burmese Saka Era 1256),
bought a plot of land at the "pomelo fording place"
on the bank of the Wang River and erected a monastery for the Sangha.
He thereafter built a dwelling place for monks,
a refectory, assembly halls for the Laity,
water closets for both monks and Laity,
wells, a Chapter House,
and a wall surrounding the monastery.
He also supported the monks and novices dwelling here
with the four requisites as long as he lived.
This dedication continues to inspire the faithful of today.
The monastery was given the name
"Pomelo Fording Place Monastery"
after the fording place on which it was built.
It is called "Wat Tamaoh" in the local dialect by word transposition;
'Wat' meaning 'Monastery,' 'Ta' meaning 'Fording Place,
' and 'Maoh' meaning 'Pomelo.'
The site on which the monastery was built is 40 fathoms in length
and 40 fathoms in breadth within the walls
and 31 fathoms in length and 18 fathoms
in breadth outside the walls to the north.
Line of Incumbents
Here is the line of incumbents:
The first incumbent was U Nandiya,
the second was U Tikkha by name;
Thera the third was U Neminda.
Their names but now remain.
"Lecturer of the Dhamma" is he,
who now resides herein, U Dhammananda,
the malice-free, serving the cause of religion.
He attained to incumbency in the year two thousand five hundred;
founded the 'School' the following year,
for the good of the Teaching Exalted.