Saint John's Tower, also called the Pigeon Tower, is a tower in
Castledermot,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, Ireland. A former
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
, it is all that remains of a medieval
leper hospital and is a
National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
.
Location
Saint John's Tower is located on the northern end of the Main Street,
Castledermot.
History
The Priory and Hospital of
St John the Baptist was founded by
Walter de Riddlesford
Walter de Riddlesford ('' fl.'' 1150 – d. 1226) was an Anglo-Norman lord who was granted in Ireland the baronies of Bray, County Wicklow and Kilkea, County Kildare between 1171 and 1176.
De Riddlesford was born in Carriebenan, Kildare, Irel ...
and his wife in 1210, just outside the Dublin gate of the
walled town of
Castledermot. It was occupied by the
Crutched Friars (''Fratres Cruciferi'') until its
dissolution in 1541.
A brief history of Castledermot
', Irish Walled Towns Network
References
{{reflist
Christian bell towers
National Monuments in County Kildare
Religion in County Kildare
Towers in the Republic of Ireland