Hospital Church
Hospital Church is a medieval fortified church of the Knights Hospitaller and a National Monument in Hospital, County Limerick, Ireland.[2][3]
| Hospital Church | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teampall an Ospidéil | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
  Hospital Church | |||||||||
| 52.476269°N 8.432607°W | |||||||||
| Location | Barrysfarm, Hospital, County Limerick | ||||||||
| Country | Ireland | ||||||||
| Denomination | Catholic (pre-Reformation) | ||||||||
| 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 m2 (3,390 sq ft) | ||||||||
| Materials | stone, mortar | ||||||||
| Administration | |||||||||
| Diocese | Limerick | ||||||||
| |||||||||
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.
Conor O'Brien (Unknown-1203) buried here, was a Gaelic nobel and Knight Hospitalier who took part in the 3rd Crusade. He was knighted by King Richard I Coeur-deLeon, King of England, during the course of the 3rd Crusade. The Irish monks at the Abbey of St. Peter in Ratisbon, Germany recorded his oversea journey.[5]
The church was dissolved in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then leased, along with its contents, to William Aspley and then to the Browne family.
Church
This is a fortified church built for defence with high walls, prominent base batter and narrow arched windows.
A tower sits at the west end with a partial barrel vault on the second floor.
In the west wall is a medieval carving of the crucifixion of Jesus.
On the interior of the east wall are two 13th/14th tombs with effigies:[6]
- a double tomb depicting a knight and his wife[7]
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 – via Google Books.
- "Hospital, Church, Co. Limerick". www.thestandingstone.ie.
- Committee, Commonwealth Shipping (25 May 2017). "Report". H.M. Stationery Office – via Google Books.
- https://www.limerick.ie/sites/default/files/hospital_local_area_plan_2012.pdf
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173360750/conor-o'brien. Missing or empty
|title=(help); External link in|website=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - Killanin, Baron Michael Morris; Duignan, Michael V. (20 December 1989). The Shell guide to Ireland. Gill and Macmillan. ISBN 9780717115952 – via Google Books.
- Bartlett, Thomas; Jeffery, Keith (9 October 1997). A Military History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521629898 – via Google Books.
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
