__NOTOC__ Wicklow Friary, also called Wicklow Abbey, is a ruined

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

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

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

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 ...

, active in the 13th to 16th centuries.

History

Wicklow Friary was founded in 1252, during the reign of

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

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 ...

, for the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are ...

(Grey Friars). Dundry stone was used in the three-light window. It had only of land and a

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

as an endowment; the monastery was partly funded by the sale of burial rights and bequests; in 1356 it is recorded that the friary received ten cows and a

vat A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

(worth 102

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s) from a donor. About 1436 the monastery adopted the strict observance of the

Observant Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the te ...

. It was dissolved during the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

(r. 1547–53), with the last guardian Dermot O'Moore being expelled. The land was leased to Henry Harrington in 1575. It was used as an

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, before falling into ruin by the 17th century. Today it forms part of the gardens of the town's

parochial house A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, par ...

. The abbey grounds were excavated in 2022–23; remains of several monks were found.

Buildings

The church was originally in length.''Archivum franciscanum historicum: periodica publicatio trimestris cura pp. Collegii D. Bonaventurae''. (1984:114). Italy: Collegium. All that remains today of the abbey church is the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

(without its west wall), and a section of the north wall of 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 ...

Gallery

Wicklow_Friary_SW_II_2016_09_16.jpg, Friary buildings seen from the southwest. Wicklow_Friary_South_Transept_Arch_2016_09_16.jpg, South

of the friary as seen from the

, looking south. Wicklow_Friary_South_Transept_Arch_II_2016_09_16.jpg, Arch of the south transept as seen from north, looking southwest. Wicklow_Friary_South_Transept_Pier_Capital_2016_09_16.jpg,

Capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Wicklow_Friary_South_Transept_South_Window_2016_09_16.jpg, Three-light window in the south wall of the south transept. Abbey Grounds sign, Wicklow.jpg, Information sign Wicklow Friary - aerial - 2025-03-09 01.jpg, Aerial view

References

External links

*{{commons-inline Religious buildings and structures in County Wicklow Franciscan monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Wicklow Christian monasteries established in the 1250s Christian monasteries disestablished in the 16th century Former courthouses Wicklow (town)