Church in County Limerick, Ireland
| Hospital Church | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teampall an Ospidéil | |||||||||||
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  Hospital Church | |||||||||||
| 52°28′35″N 8°25′57″W / 52.476269°N 8.432607°W / 52.476269; -8.432607 | |||||||||||
| Location | Barrysfarm, Hospital, County Limerick | ||||||||||
| Country | Ireland | ||||||||||
| Denomination | Catholic (pre-Reformation) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Status | ruined | ||||||||||
| Architecture | |||||||||||
| Functional status | inactive | ||||||||||
| Years built | by 1215 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 1540 | ||||||||||
| Specifications | |||||||||||
| Length | 35 m (115 ft) | ||||||||||
| Width | 9 m (30 ft) | ||||||||||
| Number of floors | 1 | ||||||||||
| Floor area | 315 m (3,390 sq ft) | ||||||||||
| Materials | stone, mortar | ||||||||||
| Administration | |||||||||||
| Diocese | Limerick | ||||||||||
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Hospital Church is a ruined medieval fortified church of the Knights Hospitaller in Hospital, County Limerick, Ireland. It is a National Monument.
History
The church was founded before 1215 by Geoffrey de Marisco (d. 1245) as a commandery of the Knights Hospitaller who had owned land in the area since 1200. It was dissolved in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then leased, along with its contents, to William Aspley and later to the Browne family; a new church was later built next to it.
Building
The church was built for defence with high walls, prominent base batter and narrow arched windows. The tower at the west end had a barrel vault on the second floor, some of which survives. Architectural fragments and a medieval carving of the crucifixion have been set into the west wall. The tops of two tombs with effigies dating to the 13th–14th century have been placed upright against the east interior wall: a tomb of a knight (possibly Geoffrey de Marisco) and a badly damaged double tomb of a knight and his wife.
References
- ^ Lee, Gerard A. (20 December 1996). Leper hospitals in medieval Ireland: with a short account of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem. Four Courts Press. ISBN 9781851822850.
- "Reports from Commissioners, Inspectors, and Others". H. M. Stationery Office. 1918. p. 23.
- ^ "Hospital, Church, Co. Limerick". The Standing Stone. September 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- Bartlett, Thomas; Jeffery, Keith (1997). A Military History of Ireland (photo). Cambridge University Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780521629898.
- Killanin, Baron Michael Morris; Duignan, Michael V. (1989). The Shell Guide to Ireland. Gill and Macmillan. p. 204. ISBN 9780717115952.
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