Hospital Church

Hospital Church is a ruined medieval fortified church of the Knights Hospitaller in Hospital, County Limerick, Ireland. It is a National Monument.^[1][2]

Hospital Church
Teampall an Ospidéil
Hospital Church
52.476269°N 8.432607°W / 52.476269; -8.432607
Location	Barrysfarm, Hospital, County Limerick
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Catholic (pre-Reformation)
History
Status	ruined
Architecture
Functional status	inactive
Years built	by 1215
Closed	1540
Specifications
Length	35 m (115 ft)
Width	9 m (30 ft)
Number of floors	1
Floor area	315 m2 (3,390 sq ft)
Materials	stone, mortar
Administration
Diocese	Limerick
Designations National monument of Ireland Official name Hospital Church Reference no. 194[1]

History

The church was founded before 1215 by Geoffrey de Marisco (d. 1245) as a commandery of the Knights Hospitaller who had owned land in the area since 1200.^[3] It was dissolved in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and then leased, along with its contents, to William Aspley and later to the Browne family; a new church was later built next to it.^[3]

Building

The church was built for defence with high walls, prominent base batter and narrow arched windows. The tower at the west end had a barrel vault on the second floor, some of which survives. Architectural fragments and a medieval carving of the crucifixion have been set into the west wall.^[3] The tops of two tombs with effigies dating to the 13th–14th century have been placed upright against the east interior wall: a tomb of a knight (possibly Geoffrey de Marisco)^[4] and a badly damaged double tomb of a knight and his wife.^[3][5]