St John's Priory, is a medieval Augustinian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

and

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 sp ...

located in Kilkenny City, Ireland. The Lady Chapel of the priory is now used as a parish church of the Church of Ireland.

Location

St. John's Abbey is located on the east bank of the

River Nore The River Nore ( ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland. The river drainage basin, drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encom ...

, at the corner of Michael Street and John Street.

History

Prior to 1200, the

Canons Regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

(Augustinians) had a house on John Street.

Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...

Felix Ua Duib Sláin Felix Ua Duib Sláin (; – 24 January 1202), often anglicised as Felix O'Dullany (''O'Dulaney'', ''O'Dullaney'', ''O'Dulany'' etc.) was a medieval Irish bishop. Biography Felix had a Latin first name meaning "fortunate"; his surname literal ...

granted a charter to Brother Osbert, the Prior of Saint John's Hospital, giving the prior the

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via onli ...

Kilkenny Castle Kilkenny Castle ( ) is a castle in Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, built in 1260 in Ireland, 1260 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, N ...

. In 1211,

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Anglo-Norman language, Norman French: ', French language, French: '), was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman during High Med ...

granted land to build the Priory of St. John the Evangelist. In 1220

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was said for the first time in the Priory, and around 1227 the Augustinians were granted the churches of Saint Evin and Saint Mary in

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke ( French: ''Guillaume le Maréchal'') (11906 April 1231) was a medieval English nobleman and was one of the sureties of Magna Carta. He fought during the First Barons' War and was present at the Battle of Lin ...

. In 1290 the Lady Chapel was completed. In 1329 the

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 towe ...

collapsed. The Prior and community of Saint John’s were imprisoned in 1331. Some time between 1361 and 1405, the Prior of Saint John’s, Walter Walsh, was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

and the Priory was placed under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

by the Bishop of Ossory. In 1540, with the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the monastery was granted to the City Corporation. During the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

era (1642–52), the site was granted to the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

. In 1645 Cardinal

Giovanni Battista Rinuccini Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653) was an Italian Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid-seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar and became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV. In 1625 Pope Urban VIII made him the Archbishop of Fer ...

got the priory opened up to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, but they were driven out in 1650. After the end of the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...

, both orders were expelled and the site fell into ruin. Around 1780, the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of the main Chapel, its two towers and attendant buildings were demolished. The stone was used to build a military barracks. In 1817 the still standing Lady Chapel was re-roofed and consecrated as a parish church of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

under architect William Robertson, also dedicated to St John. At this time also, a new western tower was added. It is still in use today as a parish of the

Diocese of Cashel and Ossory The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory (''Full title'': the United Dioceses of Cashel, Waterford and Lismore with Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, ) is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the south-eastern part of Ireland

, with weekly Sunday services.

Buildings

The Lady Chapel of St John's was known for its many

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows (supposedly inspired by

Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Construction b ...

, Paris, 1238–48) and the five triple

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s lighting the south side, and was called the "Lantern of Ireland." The roofless remains of the chancel of the old priory church with a seven-light east window (c. 1250). Inside the ruins are late mediaeval tombs including the altar tomb of a Purcell couple (1500) with carvings of the Crucifixion and the Apostles. The

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

of the lady wears a long flowing robe and a horned headdress.

Gallery

File:St John's Abbey, Kilkenny.png, 1791 drawing File:St. John's Priory.png, St. John's Priory as designed by Robertson File:St. John's Abbey Kilkenny.jpg, inside view of St. John's Abbey, view towards North

Location

History

Buildings

Gallery

References

Further reading