Talbot's Castle
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St. Mary's Abbey in
Trim, County Meath Trim () is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the River Boyne and, as of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, had a population of 9,563. The town is in a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name. The town ...
, Ireland is a former house of
Augustinian canons 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 orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religio ...
dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. The abbey was situated on the north bank of the
River Boyne The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...
, opposite
Trim Castle Trim Castle () is a castle on the south bank of the River Boyne in Trim, County Meath, Ireland, with an area of 30,000 m2. Over a period of 30 years, it was built by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter de Lacy, ...
, on land given to St. Patrick who is often credited with founding the abbey. The abbey was a prominent pilgrimage site, famous for the healing power of its statue of the Virgin Mary, until its dissolution under
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
during the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. Little remains of the abbey except for the Yellow Steeple, the ruin of the abbey bell tower named for the yellow color reflected by the stonework in the setting sun,Davenport, 543. and Talbot's Castle, an abbey building converted to a
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
.


History

According to tradition, St. Patrick founded the church at Trim. The church of Trim was destroyed at least twice by attacking forces in 1108 and 1127. In both attacks, residents seeking sanctuary burned when the church was set afire around them. Perhaps after the fires, the church was re founded as an Augustinian abbey in the twelfth century and dedicated to
St. Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
but the abbey continued to serve as the parish church.Kelly, 28. As
Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
,
St. Malachy Malachy (; ; Modern ; ) ( 1094 – 2 November 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to the apocryphal (i.e. of doubtful authen ...
introduced the Arrousian form of Augustinian rule to the abbey between 1140 and 1148. The
de Lacy de Lacy (Laci, Lacie, Lascy, Lacey, Lassey) is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first reco ...
family is associated with the abbey in the thirteenth century.''Trim'', 1. The church burned again in 1368. Shortly after the fire, the abbey erected a statue of the Virgin Mary that would become famous for working healing miracles. The statue achieved national renown as the most celebrated shrine to Mary in Ireland and pilgrims flocked to it. In 1402, Henry IV granted protection to pilgrims to the abbey, including Irish rebels. This protection continued under
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
, and, in 1472, a parliament at
Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...
passed an act that endowed the abbey with a manor and two
watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
to fund a perpetual candle to be burned at the statue, four candles during the mass of St. Mary, and a
chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...
. Additionally, the act confirmed a donation by
Richard, Duke of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...
of fifty-one acres and other lands,Cogan, 300. and granted protection to the pilgrims who came to see the icon. According to medieval Irish chronicles, the statue performed many healing miracles around the fifteenth century to the extent that a few have referred to Trim as the "
Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...
of Ireland". Royal support soured during the religious reforms and the dissolution of the monasteries under
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. Given the statue's fame Archbishop Browne hesitated to destroy the icon.''Trim'', 2. Nevertheless, the Madonna did not escape the flames of
iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...
. The statue was publicly burned in 1538. According to one account, the badly charred statue survived and was held in a private, Catholic household. The abbey did not live long past its relic. On 15 May 1542 agents of Henry VIII forced Geoffry Dardice, St. Mary's last abbot, to sign his own expulsion. About a month after the expulsion, the abbot received an annual pension of £15. The wealth of the abbey, recorded as £1,861 15s. 2d. (£9 million based on average earnings converted to 2008 value) was seized by the crown and its agents. Sir Anthony St. Leger received the abbey's lands for 100 marks plus an annual rent of 3s. 4d. The Yellow Steeple is alleged to have been destroyed by
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
. The story of the tower's destruction is based on local tradition. According to one account, the Yellow Steeple was actually used as a garrison against Cromwell's troops until the tower was destroyed.


Remains

The Yellow Steeple is the most prominent remnant of the abbey even though it is a ruin. The tower is thought to have been built shortly after the 1368 fire, but there is also a suggestion that it was built under
Richard, Duke of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...
around 1450.Callery, 440. The tower, constructed of punched and squared limestone, served as the abbey's bell tower. The tower still retains the remnant of a spiral staircase, which was built without a
newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar around which a helical staircase winds. It can also refer to an upright post that supports or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post") ...
. The eastern wall rises seven storeys and the southern wall reaches five, but little to nothing remains of the other sides of the formerly square tower. The eastern wall retains two clasping corner
buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act a ...
. The walls are mostly plain with a few windows and other simple decoration. The most elaborate feature is the double-pointed belfry window underneath a flower-let formed by a tracery pattern. The south wall is partly built of rubble suggesting that it was an interior wall. There are signs that a tall pointed object, such as a funerary monument, was connected to the south wall. The abbey church most likely was connected to the tower from the south.Casey, 1516. While the Yellow Steeple is often considered the only extant remain of the abbey, some evidence suggests that Talbot's Castle, a nearby manor house, may have been the abbey's
refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
. The size, shape, and internal features indicate the "Castle" may have served as a monastic building before being converted to a private residence.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Abbey, Trim Former churches in County Meath Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Archaeological sites in County Meath Trim, County Meath Ruined abbeys and monasteries Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Monasteries dissolved under the Irish Reformation