The Abbey of St Thomas the Martyr was a 12th-century Augustinian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

located to the southwest of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, dedicated to

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

Location

The abbey was to the southwest of Dublin, outside the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

. The

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

was located where modern

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

is, while the church was near to South Earl Street.

History

The priory was founded in 1177 by

William FitzAldelm William FitzAldelm, FitzAdelm, FitzAldhelm, or FitzAudelin was an Anglo-Norman nobleman from Suffolk or North Yorkshire. He was the son of Adelm de Burgate, and an important courtier who took part in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. Courtie ...

on orders of

Henry II, King of England Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...

, and named in honour of

, assassinated by Henry's knights in 1170. The Abbey of St Thomas the Martyr was inhabited by

Augustinian 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 orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious ...

who followed the Victorine rule established in Paris. The first monks may have come over from Bristol's Augustinian Abbey. Some sources say it was initially belonged to the Knights of Saint Thomas before passing over to the Augustinians. Henry's son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Lord of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of Kingdom of England, England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Normans in Ireland, Anglo ...

and later King of England, was a benefactor of the abbey, granting it a ''tolboll'' (right to tax on all

ale Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...

produced in Dublin). The abbey became very wealthy, due to its extensive lands in Meath and Kildare and its control of the southwest roads into Dublin. It was responsible for maintaining the City Watercourse, a diversion of water from the

River Dodder The River Dodder () is one of the three main rivers in Dublin, Ireland, the others being the River Liffey, Liffey, of which the Dodder is the largest tributary, and the River Tolka, Tolka. Course and system The Dodder rises on the northern s ...

to the

River Poddle The River Poddle () is a river in Dublin, Ireland, a pool of which (', "black pool" or "dark pool" in Irish) gave the city its English language name. Boosted by a channel made by the Abbey of St. Thomas à Becket, taking water from the far lar ...

. The

Liberty of Thomas Court and Donore The Liberty of Thomas Court and Donore (also known as the Earl of Meath's Liberty) was one of several manors, or liberties, that existed in County Dublin, Ireland since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were adjacent t ...

, one of the Liberties of Dublin, was founded in the late 12th century. Notable events in its lifetime: * 1195: The head of

Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (; before 1135 – 25 July 1186), was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Following his participation in ...

, killed in 1187 by the

O'Rourke O'Rourke () is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Leitrim. The family were the historic rulers of Breifne and later West Breifne until the 17th century. The O'Rourke Clan Chief was at odds with the O'Reilly Chie ...

s, was sent for burial at the Abbey of St. Thomas. His body was buried in Bective Abbey, County Meath. A long dispute was carried on between the two abbeys for his body, which was finally settled in favour of St. Thomas' in 1205. *1201:

Basilia de Clare Basilia may refer to: * ''Basilia'' (fly), a genus of bat flies * Basilia (island) or Baltia, in Greco-Roman geography, a mythic island in northern Europe * Basilia (name), a feminine given name * Basel (Latin: Basilia), a city in Switzerland ...

(sister of Strongbow) buried in St Thomas' *: Water is diverted from the

to power four

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places U ...

. *1250: stone for the church of St Thomas' Abbey was seized by the mayor and bailiffs of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

to repair a castle, and was returned by order of the King *1289: several buildings destroyed by accidental fire *1306: Abbot Richard Sweteman is accused of

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

ing John the Baker on the

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

of Dublin. *1380:

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaeli ...

are forbidden to become

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s of St Thomas' abbey. *1392: the Abbey was attacked by a mob, windows were broken, fire damage and the

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

was destroyed In 1538

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. ...

dissolved the monasteries of England, Wales and Ireland. At this time the Abbey of St. Thomas Court held 56 rectories, of land, 67 houses, 47

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

s and 19 gardens. Most of the land was in Counties Meath and Kildare. These possessions were distributed among several people, of which Sir William Brabazon (an ancestor of the

Earls of Meath Earl of Meath is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1627 and is held by the head of the Brabazon family. History The Brabazon family descends from Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee, Sir Edward Brabazon, who represented County ...

) and Richard St. Leger were the major beneficiaries.Dalton: A New Picture of Dublin, Dublin, 1835. On 31 March 1545 Sir William Brabazon was granted the lands of the Abbey, with all jurisdictions, liberties, privileges, and so on. This grant was confirmed in 1609 to

Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee (c. 1548 – 7 August 1625) was an Anglo-Irish peer. Brabazon was the eldest son of William Brabazon (Lord Justice of Ireland), Sir William Brabazon (died 1552), the Lord Justice of the Kingdom of Ireland, and El ...

, his son.

Today

The abbey's name was given to nearby Thomas Street. An

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Archaeological excavation * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

of 1996–1997 exposed the south wall of the church, which extends east-west across the entire length of the site. The wall is over wide. A north-south wall was judged to mark 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 ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of the abbey church. Cobbled floor and

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

d pavements were also found, as well as fragments of

Dundry stone Dundry Main Road South Quarry () is a 0.7 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of East Dundry, North Somerset, SSSI notification, notified in 1974. The quarry was cited in the 19th century by d'Orbigny as the ...

from a window. The abbey's remains are preserved under local allotments. A 2017 excavation on Thomas Street found a limestone double column base from the Abbey, and also a

chamfer A chamfer ( ) is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fur ...

ed hood moulding of

believed to be from the Abbey.

References

{{reflist

Location

History

Today

References

See also