round towers

Free-standing towers built in association with Irish monastic sites from about AD 900 until possibly 1300, representing some of the earliest stone structures to survive in Ireland. Most are gently tapering buildings, 20–30 m/66–98 ft high, topped with a conical cap. The entrances are usually some 3 m/10 ft above ground level. Internal supports suggest that some may have had as many as seven floors. The top floor had four windows – one facing in each main direction. This type of building is almost exclusive to Ireland; elsewhere only three examples are known, two in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man. Some 65 round towers survive intact or as stumps.

Although the old Irish name for a round tower was ‘bell house’, the use of these structures remained a mystery until 1845 when the Irish archaeologist George Petrie established that they were not only bell towers but also places of refuge and storehouses for monastic treasures such as bells, croziers, and even books.

Many round towers seem to have vanished without trace. Irish annals (chronologies prepared from the late 11th century to the 16th century) record numerous incidents of towers being blown over, struck by lightning, or burnt out with laypeople, monks, and even kings perishing inside them.