Old St. Mary's Church

St. Mary's church is located in the NW angle of the medieval town, with the town wall forming the N and W walls of the graveyard (TS083-019020-). The parish church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or 'Our Ladye of Clonmell' as it was more popularly known, dates from the 13th century. The initial foundation, of which there are no upstanding remains, is attributed to William de Burgh or his son Richard. The earliest reference to the church is contained in a letter from Abbot Stephen of Lexington, who preached in St. Mary's in August 1228 on the occasion of his visit to the nearby Abbey of Inishlounaght (Shee and Watson 1975, 23-8). In the late 14th century, following a number of attacks on the town by the Irish, the church was proclaimed by James, Earl of Ormond to be in such a poor state of repair that the parishioners were unable to attend divine service. Perhaps in response to a need for greater safety, a fortified church was built in the late 14th/early 15th century, replacing the earlier church. An excavation in 1996 revealed a 14th/early 15th century sarcophagus protruding from the base of the tower (Pollock 1997, 102). The square tower base had no foundations (ibid.). It appears that the tower was built onto the chancel some time before the aisle was added to the nave (ibid.). A sketch by Daniel Grose in the late 18th century provides a good illustration of this 14th/15th-century structure prior to its extensive renovations in 1805 and its rebuild in 1857 (Stalley 1991, Pls. 18, 19). The White Mortuary Chapel (built in 1622-23) is shown projecting southward from the W end of the S side of the church, with a doorway in the W gable and crenellated battlement, similar to those which crowned the side-walls and gable ends of the church itself. Also depicted are the wooden fleche and belfry which formerly surmounted the octagonal tower and the dormer windows of the aisles (Stalley 1991, 96-7). Burke (1907, 263-71) describes in some detail the structural changes of 1805. The E gable of the chancel, which was originally aligned with the end wall of the present vestry, was set back,shortening the chancel by 29 feet [8.8m]; the White Memorial Chapel was demolished and a new porch constructed at the W end of the church; and the octagonal tower heightened (Burke 1907, 263-71). Architectural fragments (TS083-004006- to TS083-004014-), an altar-tomb (TS083-004004-) and an armorial stone (TS083-004005) from the White Memorial Chapel were relocated to the church (TS083-004001-) at Patrickswell, which is c. 3km WNW of Clonmel. Internally the N and S galleries were removed. The bells of St. Mary's, dated 1697, were left in place. In 1857 the church was almost entirely rebuilt. The present remains consist of a 19th-century church which incorporates the 15th-century E and W windows, the octagonal belfry (dims. 4.22m N-S; 4.4m E-W), only the lower half of which is original, and a residential four-storey tower (dims. 4.67m N-S; 6.3m E-W). There are several 17th-century graveslabs in the porch (TS083-019029- to TS083-019034-) and within the church itself, including one for John Striche and his wife Margaret Smith, dated 1625 (TS083-019021-), one for John White, dated 1643 (TS083-019025-) and a late 17th-century slab for the Hutchinson family (TS083-019022-). The earliest graveslab (TS083-019026-), of 13th /14th-century date, was uncovered in the 1990s at the W end of the nave. (Farrelly and FitzPatrick 1993, 58-60).