Tracton Abbey ( Irish: ''Mainistir Thráicht Fhionn''), was a medieval

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

located in

Tracton Tracton () is a civil parish in southeast County Cork in Ireland. Lying roughly 7 kilometres south of Carrigaline, it lies within the Dáil constituency of Cork South-Central. The area is named after Tracton Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

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 ...

. No traces of the abbey remain today.

History

Tracton Abbey was founded in 1225. By 1639 the abbey had fallen into disrepair, and by the time of the building of the church which currently occupies the grounds of the abbey, there were likely no remains standing. The site once occupied by the abbey is now occupied by an Anglican church and by farm buildings.

Historical artefacts

In 1680, a chalice was presented to the abbey, though it is likely 25 to 30 years older. It bears the inscription: "The gift of Mrs. Jane Daunt, widow. September 10th, 1680. Tracton Abbey Church." It is marked with the initials WTF and JH, JH being for John Hawkins, who made the chalice. It is emblazoned with a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

bearing

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

, featuring a

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

azure between three birds, similar to the crest of

Lewis Watson, 1st Baron Rockingham , spouse-type = , issue-type = , issue = ''with Eleanor:''{{Plainlist, *Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham *Grace Watson *Anne Watson *Frances Watson *Elizabeth Watson *Eleanor Watson , issue-link = , iss ...

. One of only ten sheela na gigs known to originate in Cork is associated with Tracton Abbey. On show in the Cork Public Museum, it was found in a garden on the site of the former abbey. In the early 19th century, an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

horse bit The bit is an item of a horse's tack. It usually refers to the assembly of components that contacts and controls the horse's mouth, and includes the shanks, rings, cheekpads and mullen, all described here below, but it also sometimes simply ref ...

was unearthed at the abbey, though the exact find place is unknown. Suspected to date from circa. 200 BC, the bit is now in the holding of the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{coord missing, County Cork Cistercian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Religious buildings and structures in County Cork 1225 establishments