Wicklow Ireland

Architecture

Glendalough (the valley of the two lakes), a picturesque glen in Co. Wicklow (Holiday Homes, Wicklow, Ireland), contains a group of interesting early ecclesiastical remains. The monastic settlement of Glen- dalough owes its foundation to St Kevin (Coemghen) who was buried here in a.d. 617. The settlement grew in importance and eventually became a diocesan see and a cathedral city. St Laurence OToole (Lorcan O Tuathail), afterwards archbishop of Dublin, was abbot of Gliendalough at the time of his elevation to the episcopate. The diocese of Glendalough was united with that of Dublin in A.D. 1214. The most prominent feature of the ruins is the round tower, which stands 103 ft. high with an internal dia- meter of 8 ft. 10 ins. ; it is built of mica slate and granite. The doorway is round-headed with inclined jambs, the sill being 11 1/2 ft. above the ground. The roof, which had fallen many years ago, has been rebuilt with the original stones. The largest and most imposing building is the cathedral, which, with the round tower, occupies the most central and important site in the valley. The cathedral is about 50 yards from the round tower. Dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, it was used as a cathedral church until 1214 when the diocese was united to that of Dublin. A parallelogram in plan, it consists of a nave, and of a chancel with a small sacristy attached to the south side. The most interesting features of the building arc the round-headed east window and chancel arch. The north doorway is somewhat later in date than these.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Architecture. Tags: Architecture, cathedral city, st. kevin, st. laurence O'Toole, Wicklow. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.