Editing Glendalough (section)

==Monuments in the Lower Glen==

===Gateway===
[[File:The_Gateway_to_the_monastic_city_of_Glendalough.jpg|thumb|The Gateway|alt=]]
The Gateway to the monastic city of Glendalough is one of the most important monuments, now totally unique in Ireland. It was originally two-storeyed with two fine, [[granite]] [[arch]]es. The [[antae]] or projecting walls at each end suggest that it had a [[timber]] roof. Inside the gateway, in the west wall, is a cross-inscribed stone. This denoted [[sanctuary]], the boundary of the area of refuge. The paving of the [[causeway]] in the monastic city is still preserved in part but very little remains of the enclosure wall.<ref name="sacred" />

===Round Tower===
[[File:Glendalough_Round_Tower_Above.jpg|thumb|The Round Tower]]
This fine tower, built of [[schist|mica-slate]] interspersed with [[granite]] is about 30 metres high, with an entrance 3.5 metres from the base. The conical roof was rebuilt in 1876 using the original stones. The tower originally had six timber floors, connected by ladders. The four storeys above entrance level are each lit by a small window; while the top storey has four windows facing the [[cardinal direction|cardinal compass points]]. [[Irish round tower|Round towers]], landmarks for approaching visitors, were built as [[bell tower]]s, but also served on occasion as store-houses and as places of refuge in times of attack.<ref name="sacred" />

===St. Peter and St. Pauls' Cathedral===
[[File:Glendalough church.jpg|thumb|The Cathedral|alt=|left]]
St. Peter and St. Pauls' Cathedral<ref>"A New History of Ireland" [[T. W. Moody]], [[F. X. Martin]], [[Francis John Byrne|F.J. Byrne]] and [[Art Cosgrove|Cosgrove, A]]: [[Oxford]], [[Oxford University Press|OUP]], 1976 {{ISBN|0-19-821745-5}}</ref> is the largest and most imposing of the buildings at Glendalough, the [[cathedral]] had several phases of construction, the earliest, consisting of the present [[nave]] with its antae. The large [[schist|mica-schist]] stones which can be seen up to the height of the square-headed west doorway were re-used from an earlier smaller church. The [[chancel]] and [[sacristy]] date from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The chancel arch and east window were finely decorated, though many of the stones are now missing. The north doorway to the nave also dates from this period. Under the southern window of the chancel, there is an [[Almery|ambry]] or wall cupboard and a [[piscina]], a basin used for washing the sacred vessels. A few metres south of the cathedral an early cross of local granite, with an unpierced ring, is commonly known as St. Kevin's Cross.<ref name="sacred" />
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=== Priests' House ===
[[File:Priest_House,_Glendalough.jpg|thumb|The Priests' House|alt=]]
Almost totally reconstructed from the original stones, based on a 1779 sketch made by Beranger, the Priests' House is a small [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] building, with a decorative arch at the east end. It gets its name from the practice of interring priests there in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its original purpose is unknown although it may have been used to house relics of [[Kevin of Glendalough|St. Kevin]].<ref name="sacred" />

=== St. Kevin's Church or "Kitchen" ===
[[File:Glendalough, Co. Wicklow - 2022.jpg|thumb|Saint Kevin's Church|alt=]]
This stone-roofed building originally had a nave only, with an entrance at the west end and a small round-headed window in the east gable. The upper part of the window can be seen above what became the chancel arch when the chancel (now missing) and the sacristy were added later. The steep roof, formed of overlapping stones, is supported internally by a semi-circular vault. Access to the croft or roof chamber was through a rectangular opening towards the western end of the vault. The church also had a timber first floor. The belfry with its conical cap and four small windows rises from the west end of the stone roof in the form of a miniature round tower. It is commonly known as St. Kevin's Kitchen as the bell tower resembles a kitchen chimney. However, food was not cooked here.<ref name="sacred" />

=== St. Ciarán's Church ===
The remains of this nave-and-chancel church were uncovered in 1875. The church is currently thought to commemorate St. Ciarán, the founder of [[Clonmacnoise]], a monastic settlement that had associations with Glendalough during the 10th century.<ref name="sacred" />

=== St. Mary's or Our Lady's Church ===
One of the earliest and best constructed of the churches, St. Mary's or Our Lady's Church consists of a nave with a later chancel. Its granite west doorway with an [[architrave]], has inclined jambs and a massive lintel. The underside of the lintel is inscribed with an unusual [[saltire]] or x-shaped cross. The east window is round-headed, with a [[hood mould]]ing and two very worn carved heads on the outside.<ref name="sacred" />

===Trinity Church===
[[File:Trinity Glendalough 2022.jpg|thumb|Trinity Church|alt=|left]]
A simple nave-and-chancel church, with a fine chancel arch. Trinity Church is beside the main road. A square-headed doorway in the west gable leads into a later annexe, possibly a sacristy. A round tower or belfry was constructed over a vault in this chamber. This fell in a storm in 1818. The doorway inserted in the south wall of the nave also dates from this period. Projecting [[corbel]]s at the gables would have carried the verge timbers of the roof.<ref name="sacred" /> It is a simple nave and chancel church with an addition to the west end of the 9 metre long by 5.5 metre wide nave.

===St. Saviour's Church===
[[File:St_Saviour's_Priory,_Glendalough.jpg|thumb|St. Saviour's Church|alt=]]
The most recent of the Glendalough churches, [[St Saviour's Priory, Wicklow|St. Saviour's priory]] was built in the 12th century, probably at the time of St. Laurence O'Toole. The nave and chancel with their fine decorate stones were restored in the 1870s using stones found on the site. The Romanesque chancel arch has three orders, with highly ornamented capitals. The east window has two round-headed lights. Its decorated features include a serpent, a lion, and two birds holding a human head between their beaks. A staircase in the eastern wall leading from an adjoining domestic building would have given access to a room over the chancel.<ref name="sacred" />

===The Deer Stone===

The Deer stone is a bullaun stone. It sits on the south side of the Glenealo River, directly opposite ruins of St Ciarán’s church,
beside the green road leading to the upper lake. Their original use is largely unknown, their original use many of these stones over time developed associations with the saints and were part of the post medieval pilgrim rituals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 June 2013 |title=The 'Deer Stone' a 19th century pilgrim station at Glendalough |url=https://pilgrimagemedievalireland.com/2013/06/03/the-deer-stone-a-19th-century-pilgrim-station-at-glendalough/ |access-date=9 August 2023 |website=Pilgrimage In Medieval Ireland }}</ref> In August 2023, The Deer Stone was vandalised, causing permanent damage.<ref>{{Cite news |title='Lasting damage' done to Deer Stone in Glendalough |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2023/0809/1398883-deerstone-glendalough-wicklow/ |publisher=[[RTÉ News]] |date=9 August 2023 |access-date=9 August 2023 }}</ref>
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