Armorial plaque

The National Monuments Service's description

From Potterton (2005, 287-8).
Two thirds of the way up the west face of the tower of St Patrick's church (ME036-048012-) is an armorial shield showing the arms of de Burgh and Mortimer quartered; the shield is surmounted by a small bearded head carved into the same stone. From a study of this shield, Hickey has proposed a date somewhere between 1372 and 1425 for the construction of the tower, adjudging that it was erected during the tenure of either the third, fourth, or fifth earl of March and Ulster (Hickey 1983, 152).
However, it has also been suggested that the tower was constructed by Richard, duke of York, lord lieutenant of Ireland from 1447 to 1460, who is known to have resided in Trim for a time in 1449 (Roe 1968, 4). William Elliot, an 18th century rector of Trim, described the arms as those of Richard, duke of York, and that tradition has been maintained by subsequent writers (Butler 1854, 163). Hickey disproved this attribution, however, showing that the arms were those of the duke’s mother’s family, the Mortimers.
Even if Hickey’s dating of the shield to 1372-1425 is correct—which it probably is—the attribution of the tower itself to this period relies heavily on the assumption that the shield was incorporated into the tower as it was being built. This is difficult to prove. Although there is no evidence outside the frame of the shield for it being a later insertion (the stonework all blends together neatly), the fact that the frame is larger than the shield itself suggests that it may not originally have been assembled in this way.
Whatever the case, it is doubtful if much time separated the construction of the tower and the incorporation of the shield. On the balance of evidence, then, it would seem that the tower was constructed before 1460. This would also fit in with the fact that the building of a large tower abutting one end of a parish church seems to have been a feature primarily of the fifteenth century.

Date of upload: 16 February, 2015

References

Roe, H.M. 1968 Medieval fonts of Meath. Meath Archaeological and Historical Society.

Potterton, M. 2005 Medieval Trim: history and archaeology. Dublin, Four Courts Press

Butler, R. 1854 Some notices of the castle and of the ecclesiastical buildings of Trim. 3rd edition, Trim.

Hickey, E. 1983 Arms of the earls of March and Ulster on the tower of the cathedral of Trim, Ireland. The coat of arms, 5: 126, 148-52.