St. Patrick's Church, Straffan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Patrick's Church |
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Teampall Phádraig
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 St. Patrick's Church
Location in County Kildare
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| 53°18′41″N 6°36′38″W / 53.311423°N 6.610659°W | |
| Location | Straffan, County Kildare |
| Country | Ireland |
| Denomination | Church of Ireland |
| Previous denomination | Pre-Reformation Catholic |
| History | |
| Founded | early 13th century |
| Dedication | Saint Patrick |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | ruined |
| Closed | 1838 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 21.5 m (71 ft) |
| Width | 6.3 m (21 ft) |
| Number of floors | 4 |
| Materials | stone |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Dublin and Glendalough |
Saint Patrick's Church, also known as Old Straffan Church, is a very old church in Straffan, Ireland. Today, it is a ruin, meaning it's no longer used and parts of it have fallen down.
Contents
Where is St. Patrick's Church?
St. Patrick's Church is found right in the middle of Straffan village. It's about 760 meters (half a mile) north of the River Liffey.
A Look at the Church's History
St. Patrick's Church in Straffan was built a long, long time ago, in the early 13th century. This means it's over 800 years old! Around 1250, the church became connected to a hospital in Dublin called Saint John's Hospital. This suggests the church was built even earlier than 1250.
In 1397, the local church duties were combined with Saint John's Hospital. But in 1531, a leader named Archbishop John Alen brought back the church's own local duties.
Some people believe the church might have been a secret safe place. It could have hidden priests who were being treated unfairly. By 1630, the main part of the church, called the nave, was already in ruins.
The old church was eventually replaced by a newer church in 1838. The ruins of St. Patrick's Church are now in a modern graveyard. You can enter the graveyard through a special gate called a lychgate, which was built around 1920.
What the Church Building Looks Like
St. Patrick's Church is about 30.5 meters (100 feet) long. It has a strong, tall building called a tower house at its west end. This tower has four floors and a small structure for a bell on top. There's a spiral staircase inside the tower in the southwest corner. Later, extra supports called buttresses were added to the north and south sides of the tower to make it stronger.
The main entrance door is on the south side. It has a new arch made of granite. The rest of the church is built from rough stones, with smoother limestone used for details. You can see three special windows. They are shaped like an "ogee" (a curved shape) and are narrow, letting in just a single beam of light. Two of these windows are on the south side, and one is on the north. The corners of the east wall have roughly cut stones called quoins.
Most of the northern wall of the church has fallen down over time. In the 1800s, people wrote about a small stone prayer room, or oratory, on the south side. However, this small building is no longer there.
Gallery
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East window
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West window
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North wall of the church; you can see holes where wooden steps once allowed access to the tower.
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View of the strong tower from the south side.
