Abbey Grounds II

Today, we're back in the beautiful Abbey Grounds, Wicklow Town, site of a 13th century Franciscan monastery and also the location of the Roman Catholic parish priest's house.

Located towards the western end of the town, the grounds are open to the public and, because of it's quiet tranquility in the middle of the town bustle, is often used for wedding party photographs.

Abbey Grounds

The Abbey Grounds in Wicklow Town is a haven of peace and tranquility and within the grounds stand the ruins of an ancient Franciscan monastery built in the mid 13th century and which is the oldest surviving settlement in the town.

The View South

 

The late afternoon view south from the East Pier, Wicklow Harbour showing the ruins of the Black Castle on a rocky promotory overlooking the sea.

A Stone Cross

A stone cross in the burial ground of the 11th century Reefert Church located near the South Lake, Glendalough, Co Wicklow.  Reefert derives its name from the Irish ‘Righ Fearta’ meaning burial place of the kings or royal graveyard.

The Draw Off Tower

Yesterday, we showed a photo of the picturesque Lower Vartry Reservoir, near Roundwood, Co Wicklow which has been in the news of late. Today we feature the Draw Off Tower which is located on the southern edge of the reservoir.

The Tower was featured in a scene from Wild Decembers, a major RTE TV drama based on the book of the same name by Edna O'Brien, shown during the Christmas holiday.

Water is piped from here right under the dam I'm standing on into the treatment plant behind and, after extensive filtration and purification, flows through a supposedly unstable 150 year old rock lined 4km-long tunnel bored through the Wicklow Mountains.  Its daily flow of 80 million litres represents about 20 per cent of the total of the water supply to the greater Dublin area.

Investigations undertaken within the past two years by external consultants on behalf of the city council uncovered a fault line in the rock which could collapse at any time.

The good news is that it's been there for 150 years.  We won't contemplate the bad!

Last Orders

Yesterday was the last day to visit Santa's Magical Kindom at Wicklow's Historic Gaol in Wicklow Town.

McTime

Now a McDonalds outlet, the former Town Hall, originally a covered market house, was commissioned by the 11th Earl of Meath to look down the main street of Bray. Designed by Thomas Manly Deane and his assistant Guy Dawber (who later returned to England and ran a successful country house practice), the Town Hall is reminiscent of medieval market houses in England or Germany. The building was built in 1882-3.

The market house was closed  in the mid 1940s, but the Town Hall's other major role continues.  The upper floor, reached by a stone staircase at the east side and with an open timber roof and oak chimney-pieces with carved panels, was always intended to serve as Bray's council chamber, originally for meetings of the town commissioners and today for Bray Town Council - it is also regularly used for local functions.

In 1991, after major refurbishment, the ground floor was converted into a high-ceilinged restaurant, and in 1997 this was controversially taken over by McDonald's.

Today is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community and this month's subject is Time.  To see how Time is interpreted around the world, you can click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Market House

Dunlavin, Co Wicklow is situated about 5km west of the main N81 and is very close to the Kildare County border. It is a peaceful village characterised by its unusually wide streets forming an expansive T-junction. Its crowning glory is the Market House in the centre of the village. Built in the ancient Doric style of Grecian architecture, it is one of three such buildings in Ireland.

Detached multiple-bay two-storey Palladian style former market house, built c.1740 to designs by Richard Castle (Cassels), architect of the beautiful Russborough House in Blessington. The building later served as a court house and is now in use as an art gallery / exhibition space.

Baltinglass Abbey

Baltinglass Abbey is located on the east bank of the River Slaney on the North side of Baltinglass, Co Wicklow.  It was founded in 1148 by Diarmuid McMurrough, King of Leinster and is one of the most important Cistercian abbeys of Leinster.

The Gothic arches are supported by alternate round and square pillars.

Although none of the conventional buildings survive, the abbey church remains relatively unscathed - although the tower is a 19th century addition. The church is now considered one of
the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in Ireland.

The Old Lighthouse

A six stage structure built around 1780 as one of a pair this is the Old Lighthouse on Wicklow Head which was converted by the Irish Lighthouse Trust to a short let holiday home. Four to six people can be accomodated in two delightfully quirky octagonal bedrooms and one double sofa bed in the sitting room.  The kitchen is on the top floor of this 95 foot high tower so a lot of stairs to negotiate but fantastic views from the top.

Below,  looking north from Wicklow Head.

It's A Camel!

My recent post on The Black Castle, Wicklow Town, elicited the observation from esteemed follower Kathy, who  pointed out that the images of Black Castle 'looked like a camel sitting on the ground.'

So, yes, the images did appear to resemble the aforementioned camel, but I just had to go back and shoot the scene from the opposite side, purely to satisfy my curiosity - well, not exactly the opposite side, but here, I'm facing north-east and, the final verdict?  It's a camel!

Black Castle

Immediately south of Wicklow Harbour, on a high rocky promontory, with great views over Wicklow Town, the harbour and the north of the county, lies the ruins of Black Castle which dates from the arrival of the Normans in 1169.  It was constantly under attack from local chieftains notably those of the O'Byrne and O'Toole clans and in 1301 they succeeded in totally destroying the castle.

Well it may have been destroyed, but we still have the setting on the edge of the sea and the views all around, including top left of the main photo, Wicklow Golf Club.

Rally At Russborough

Blessington Vintage Car & Motorcycle Club held their autumn rally on Sunday last, meeting at beautiful Russborough House, Blessington, Co Wicklow on what was a dark and murky morning but much uplifted by the stately surroundings and the spectacle of the motors assembled there, many of which came from the U.K..

Now, your intrepid blogger just happened to be there to witness this gathering  prior to attending a morning tour of the aforementioned house at a cost of €10.  And, no, I can't offer you photos - no photography allowed inside this house!  I wonder could they have a security problem?

The Round Tower

We're on the tourist trail today folks as we head west to beautiful Glendalough, the 'Valley of the Two Lakes' but also known as The Seven Churches, which is located in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.

Pictured above and part of the Monastic Site formed by St Kevin in the 6th century, near the Lower Lake in Glendalough, the Round Tower is almost 1,000 years old.  In medieval Ireland, round towers served as landmarks to guide pilgrims from afar, and were regarded as places of refuge in times of attack. With a door about 4 feet from the ground it was believed to be defensively secure by refuge seekers, who raised the ladder from within.






Glendalough thrived as one of Irelands great ecclesiastical foundations and schools of learning until the Normans destroyed the monastery in 1214. Below, St Kevin's Church with it's own
integrated round tower is often referred to as 'St Kevin's Kitchen'.  Now why can't those pesky tourists keep out of my shot?  What's that I hear you say?  Now how could I be a tourist?

The Orangery

During the recent National Heritage Week we took the opportunity to visit Killruddery House and Gardens, home to the 15th Earl of Meath in  Bray, Co Wicklow - well, they were offering visitors free entrance to the gardens that day!

So, here we feature The Orangery, designed and built by the Scottish architect William Burn in 1852.  According to Killruddery's website, 'the original glass dome was the work of Richard Turner who designed the curvilinear range at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin and at Kew Gardens in London'.

The Orangery, which was restored in the year 2000, has a collection of classical marble statues gathered in Italy between 1830 and 1850.


Tomorrow, we take a stroll in the gardens.