Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Round tower
Crossmoyle, County Monaghan, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Crossmoyle
- County
- Monaghan
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Round Tower
- Latest-edition OS map
- Round Tower
- Coordinates
- 54.17768, -7.23298
- SMR number
- MO011-010002-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1636 "Vltoniae Orientalis Pars" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated towards the bottom of a S-facing slope, and incorporated into the perimeter of the graveyard (MO011-010003-) at W. The doorway and lights are completely plain with simple lintels, suggesting an early date. The lintelled and battered doorway, which entered at the first floor, is c. 1.5m the level of the graveyard and faces E. At this level the floor of the tower (int. diam. 2.7m; ext. diam. c. 4.9m) was supported on rebates but above this three floors were supported only partly on offsets and partly on beams set into the walls. The tower survives to the level of the cap (H c. 23m), which is missing. The interior was cleared of rubble in the 1840s when two archaeological floors, the lower with mortar, were noted. Beneath the mortar was a jumble of inhumed remains, undoubtedly disturbed in building the tower from a pre-existing cemetery. Archaeological testing (01E0879) c. 30m W of the round tower produced no related material (Clarke 2003) and further testing (05E0251) c. 35m SW of the tower had a similar negative result (McLoughlin, 2008). (Wakeman 1875, 329-32; Barrow 1979, 171-2)
Compiled by: Michael Moore
This is a National Monument in state ownership: No. 111
See the attached views: _1 aerial from NW; _2 from NE; _3 doorway
Date of revised upload: 29 November 2016
Amended: 13 January 2020
References
Clarke, L. 2003 1072. Cara Street, Clones: No archaeological significance. In I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2001: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 341. Bray, Wordwell
McLoughlin. G. 2008 1267. Cara Street, Clones. No archaeological significance. in I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2005: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 312. Dublin, Wordwell
Wakeman, W. F. 1875 On the Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Cluain-Eois, now Clones, County of Monaghan. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 13, 327-340 (RT 329-32; ‘Abbey' 333-35; Shrine 335-8
Barrow, G.L. 1979 The round towers of Ireland: a study and gazetteer. Dublin. The Academy Press.
Nearby in the register
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.