Until recently I thought that St Mary’s Abbey different to the Yellow Steeple. Some of the photographs include a old stone structure known as the sheep gate which I will discuss at a later date.
St. Mary’s Abbey on the northern bank of the River Boyne, overlooking Trim Castle in Co. Meath, Ireland was an Augustinian Abbey dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today what remains of the abbey is referred to as the Yellow Steeple, due to the yellow hue the surviving bell tower assumes during sunset. The tower continues to dominate the Trim skyline and is thought to have been the tallest building in Ireland in the Later Medieval Period.
The Augustinian Abbey was founded in the early 12th century on the site of the original parish church. The abbey was burned in 1368 and shortly after this date the tower was constructed and a statue of the Virgin Mary was erected at the site. This statue became famous for the miracles it worked, resulting in the abbey becoming an important place of pilgrimage.
The statue was publicly burned in 1538, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. Today very little remains of the abbey, with the exception of the bell tower and ‘Talbot’s Castle’, a later medieval manor house that may incorporate a small portion of the original building.
On Navangate Street leading from the Newtown Monuments was the Navan Gate, the eastern gate in the town walls. Along the road on the southside a wall plaque commemorates this gate. Navan Gate was sometimes called Rogues Castle. A well known local rhyme went: “Kells for brogues, Navan for rogues and Trim for hanging the people” … The middle ages came to an end in three events in County Meath. In 1542 the Liberty was divided into two, Westmeath and Meath, setting up the county we know today, with county courts and county sheriff and its capital at Trim. Navan is now the capital.
I was asked if Haggard was a Viking Name after I had published a photograph of the Haggard Inn. In Meath and elsewhere ‘The Haggard’ frequently appears as a field name. This is almost always an area adjacent to the farm yard or what once was a farm yard. Traditionally this was an enclosed area on a farm for stacking hay, grain or other fodder. Collins English Dictionary describes Haggard as follows – “Haggard – (in Ireland and the Isle of Man) – an enclosure beside a farmhouse in which crops are stored. Related to old Norse Heygarthr, from hey hay + garthr yard.” It is most likely that this word has a Scandanavian or Norse origin.
The cast-iron post box on Haggard Street is an important feature in the social and urban fabric of the town. It is simple design, the lettering and crown are well executed. Though many cast-iron post boxes are being replaced by modern boxes, this one remains in use however, as the weather was so bad on Christmas Day, I did not get the opportunity to photograph it but I did photograph the equally interesting Post Box on the side wall of the Steps Pub near the Wellington Monument.
I actually visited the area on the next day but forgot to photograph the letterbox.
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