Wat-Satiwongsaram

Wat Santiwongsaram Birmingham England was founded in 1987 by a group of Thai and British Buddhists living in the United Kingdom. Led by Mr. Preecha Lathe they rented a house at 27 Bayswater Road Birmingham as temporary accommodation for monks. They then raised money to buy a house at 69 Coopers Road Birmingham and established a Thai temple called "Wat Sangkthan". This was to provide a place for monks to reside during the rainy season to carry out religious activities and to teach Buddhism to Buddhists and those interested in general.
In 1990 the temple sold the house at 69 Coopers Road Birmingham and purchased a house at 107 Handsworth Wood Road Birmingham. The temple was then moved to its current location.
However the money from the sale of the first house was not enough to pay for the new house in full. With the temple unable to raise the remaining funds Mrs. Vanida Suwanchit (deceased) donated four million baht and lent a further four million baht. The temple agreed to repay this loan at a later date.
In 1994 Mrs. Vanida Suwanchit had an urgent need for money. The temple was unable to repay the loan in a short period of time so it borrowed the money from Wat Sangkthan Nonthaburi Thailand. The temple paid back the loan in installments over the next three years with the support of Thai and British Buddhists. The loan was fully repaid in 2004.
Wat Sangkthan Birmingham is home to five monks and is visited by Buddhists for meditation on a regular basis. In order to ensure that the temple remains a source of spiritual support for Buddhists in the United Kingdom the temple decided to register as a charity in accordance with the principles of charitable organizations in the United Kingdom. The legal advisor advised that the name "Wat Sangkthan" was too similar to other temples in Thailand so it was decided to change the name to avoid confusion.
The monastic community and the temple committee agreed to register the temple as a charity under the name "THE SANTIWONGSARAM TEMPLE" and to change the name of the temple from "Wat Sangkthan" to "Wat Santiwongsaram". The new name means "Temple of the Ancestral Peace-Loving Lineage". The temple will operate under the Thai name "Wat Santiwongsaram" and the English name "THE SANTIWONGSARAM TEMPLE" from now on.