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I promised you Kells
Jul. 24th, 2009 10:53 amKnown locally as 'The Castles,' Kells in Co. Kilkenny is actually an Augustinian Priory dating back to 1193. It was built by Geoffrey FitzRobert - a knight of the historically impressive William Marshall - and established by four Canons Regular (Augustinian 'Black' Canons) brought over from Bodmin in Cornwall. It stands on the King's River.
What's so fascinating about it now is that there are no turnstiles or guidebooks, no barriers (other than safety ones where some restoration is taking place) and no times of opening and closing. You just park up by a derelict Hutchinson's Mill (water wheel still evident), walk for a few hundred yards along the river and cross a bridge and you're there.
It's a huge site with no complete buildings but solid ruins and a restored perimeter wall which enclosed the Burgess Court, a defensive area for the protection of the locals added in the 15th century when times were turbulent and the original defensive castle at Kells had been ignored for some years by successive authorities.
All this I later gleaned from the Kells website because all you can see there is an inexplicable ruin - which is kinda nice. (But don't go to this website unless you can stomach irritating pop-up ads and awkwardly repeating chunks of text. You have been warned.)
Edit: Actually - I just found a much better website here by Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler (an illustrator specialising in archaeological reconstruction) with an extensive history, plans of the site and photographs. I thoroughly recommend it. In particular there's a very fine reconstruction drawing and a ground plan.
And this is my favourite shot.
Just down the road is another mill which is now converted into a museum, tea-shop and offices. It's labelled Kells Priory Mill, but it's the old Mullins Mill. Records say that a mill was established on site in 1204-6 by Geoffrey de Monte Marisco FitzRobert (c.1197-1242), first Baron FitzRobert and the buildings were incorporated into the present complex by the Mullins family in the late eighteenth century. There's yet another amazing waterwheel.
And a gorgeous view from the bridge
What's so fascinating about it now is that there are no turnstiles or guidebooks, no barriers (other than safety ones where some restoration is taking place) and no times of opening and closing. You just park up by a derelict Hutchinson's Mill (water wheel still evident), walk for a few hundred yards along the river and cross a bridge and you're there.
It's a huge site with no complete buildings but solid ruins and a restored perimeter wall which enclosed the Burgess Court, a defensive area for the protection of the locals added in the 15th century when times were turbulent and the original defensive castle at Kells had been ignored for some years by successive authorities.
All this I later gleaned from the Kells website because all you can see there is an inexplicable ruin - which is kinda nice. (But don't go to this website unless you can stomach irritating pop-up ads and awkwardly repeating chunks of text. You have been warned.)
Edit: Actually - I just found a much better website here by Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler (an illustrator specialising in archaeological reconstruction) with an extensive history, plans of the site and photographs. I thoroughly recommend it. In particular there's a very fine reconstruction drawing and a ground plan.
And this is my favourite shot.
Just down the road is another mill which is now converted into a museum, tea-shop and offices. It's labelled Kells Priory Mill, but it's the old Mullins Mill. Records say that a mill was established on site in 1204-6 by Geoffrey de Monte Marisco FitzRobert (c.1197-1242), first Baron FitzRobert and the buildings were incorporated into the present complex by the Mullins family in the late eighteenth century. There's yet another amazing waterwheel.
And a gorgeous view from the bridge
