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Hospital Church

Coordinates: 52°28′35″N 8°25′57″W / 52.476269°N 8.432607°W / 52.476269; -8.432607
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Hospital Church
Teampall an Ospidéil
Hospital Church is located in Ireland
Hospital Church
Hospital Church
52°28′35″N 8°25′57″W / 52.476269°N 8.432607°W / 52.476269; -8.432607
LocationBarrysfarm, Hospital, County Limerick
CountryIreland
DenominationCatholic (pre-Reformation)
History
Statusruined
Architecture
Functional statusinactive
Years builtby 1215
Closed1540
Specifications
Length35 m (115 ft)
Width9 m (30 ft)
Number of floors1
Floor area315 m2 (3,390 sq ft)
Materialsstone, mortar
Administration
DioceseLimerick
Designations
Official nameHospital Church
Reference no.194[1]

Hospital Church is a ruined medieval fortified church of the Knights Hospitaller in Hospital, County Limerick, Ireland. It is a National Monument.[1][2]

History

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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.[3] It was dissolved in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then leased, along with its contents, to William Aspley and later to the Browne family; a new church was later built next to it.[3]

Building

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The church was built for defence with high walls, prominent base batter and narrow arched windows. The tower at the west end had a barrel vault on the second floor, some of which survives. Architectural fragments and a medieval carving of the crucifixion have been set into the west wall.[3] The tops of two tombs with effigies dating to the 13th–14th century have been placed upright against the east interior wall: a tomb of a knight (possibly Geoffrey de Marisco)[4] and a badly damaged double tomb of a knight and his wife.[3][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b 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.
  2. ^ "Reports from Commissioners, Inspectors, and Others". H. M. Stationery Office. 1918. p. 23.
  3. ^ a b c d "Hospital, Church, Co. Limerick". The Standing Stone. September 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  4. ^ Bartlett, Thomas; Jeffery, Keith (1997). A Military History of Ireland (photo). Cambridge University Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780521629898.
  5. ^ Killanin, Baron Michael Morris; Duignan, Michael V. (1989). The Shell Guide to Ireland. Gill and Macmillan. p. 204. ISBN 9780717115952.