Rathmullan Priory

Rathmullan Priory: Founded in 1516 for the Carmelite Order by Owen Roe MacSweeney and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the priory survived intact until 1595 when it was plundered by Bingham; the friars returned and repaired the place. In 1601, the buildings consisted of a church and steeple, cloister, hall and three chambers. Andrew Knox, Bishop of Raphoe, having obtained possession of the site, converted the nave and transept into a private dwelling, preserving the tower and chancel as his chapel (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 291). His initials and the date 1618 over the hall doorway indicate when these alterations took place. In 1706, the chancel was consecrated by Bishop Pooley as the parish church in place of that at Killygarvan, which had fallen into ruin (Batt 1889, 42). Services were discontinued there when a new parish church, St. Columb's, was built in 1814 (Leslie 1940, 94). The house probably fell into ruins in the later 18th century after the Knox family moved to Prehen near Derry (Batt 1889, 43; Anonymous 1892, 22, 27, 31; Rowan 1979, 406). The ruins testify to at least two major building phases. The original 16th century priory consisted of a church, comprising chancel, central tower, nave and transept and the N and E domestic ranges. Much of the former survives but only the N, E and a section of the W walls of the latter remain. The early 17th century alterations included the conversion of the nave and transept into a three storey, L-shaped, fortified house with the addition of a gabled hallway, of equal height, in the re-entrant angle. The chancel was used as the bishop's private chapel. The repointing of wall-ends and faces was carried out after the house had fallen into ruins; the two set-back buttresses at the NW corner of the nave may have been added and some of the windows blocked-up at this period. The original 16th century church and domestic ranges are built of rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings in grey sandstone with characteristic 16th century punch tooling. Chancel: The lower courses of the E and S walls are battered. The tracery of the three-light E window fell in the later 19th century (Batt c. 1870, 181). The exterior is crowned by a moulded hood-mould with out-turned stops terminating in stylised vine-leaves. The hood-mould keystone is preserved at the parish priest's house. It is crowned with a mitred figure, the framed niche for which still survives above the E window. The interior of the E window has a double hollow-chamfered rear-arch. There is a two-light pointed window with double-chamfered rear-arch in the S wall. The mullion is missing and it has a vesica-shaped opening above the pointed lights. The hood-mould has two head terminals. The jamb of a wall-press or piscina-niche is visible in the masonry below the window. The doorway to the W was undoubtedly broken through for public access when the chapel was used as the parish church. The segment-headed rear-arch of a blocked-up doorway in the N wall is partly obscured by a buttress-like addition built against its exterior N face. The interior is hidden beneath a plaster coat. The doorway would originally have communicated with the sacristy. A secondary stone support of unknown function and c. 1.5m high, survives along the inner S 2m of the E gable. Tower: The four-storey tower is wide transversely but narrow from E to W; its width is due to the setback rectangular projection on the S, which houses the spiral staircase. The tower slightly oversailed the roofs of the nave and chancel, the coping for which was built into its E and W faces. The E and W arches of two double-chamfered orders are narrow. The inner order springs from moulded imposts above inverted, tapering, half-octagon corbels which terminate in a small moulded band now defaced. A single vine-leaf enriches that on the NE pier. The arches rise from a chamfered plinth, visible at ground level on the inner faces of the NW and NE piers. The tower had timber floors. A rectangular window at second storey level in the E wall overlooks the high altar. The third storey was lit by similar windows. The fourth storey, surviving to sill height, had a two-light window in its E and W walls; the sills alone remain. There is a pointed doorway with chamfered jambs in the W face just below the roof coping; this probably provided access to a pulpit and/or loft. Access to the domestic ranges was via a door in the N wall of the tower. Beside it, in the NW pier, is a wall-press. In the E face of this pier beside the SE corner and c. 1.2m above present ground level, is a circular sinking, 11cms in diameter and 6cms deep. There is a corresponding sinking opposite it in the W face of the NE pier, the upper section having an entrance-chase to facilitate the easy insertion or removal of a cross beam; its exact function is unknown. Nave: The nave and transept were significantly altered c. 1618 and converted into an L-shaped house with additional hallway. The walls of the nave and transept were raised to accommodate three storeys. The moulding profiles of the door and secondary windows are typically Scottish in character, as are the two angle turrets on moulded corbels with circular pistol loops below the windows which were added to the N and S corners of the nave. The original line of the W gable of the church is visible in its interior face. The W door was replaced by a window (now blocked-up) of which the N jamb and sill are missing; at the N corner of this wall is a small blocked-up, rectangular window with chamfered trim. The second-storey window is also blocked-up; that at third-storey level has lost its moulded dressings. The gable is crowned with two brick chimneys; these were, undoubtedly decorative features as there are no visible traces of flues or fireplaces-in this wall. The main fireplaces were in the N wall; that at groundfloor and second-storey-level were subsequently built up to accommodate smaller fireplaces. Only fragmentary sections of the fireplace above them on the third-storey remain; supported on corbels, it was built out from the inner face of the N wall. The jambs, sill and W ingoing of an original 16th century two-light window, now blocked-up, survive about midway along the exterior face of the N wall. Apart from a small W projection from the tower, the remainder of the N wall has fallen and the exposed faces and wall-ends have been repainted. Both windows in the remaining section of the S wall of the nave are blocked up; that on the second-storey has lost its moulded dressings. Transept: The E, S and return of the W wall rise from battered lower courses; the S gable retains its 17th century coping. The jambs and sill of the twolight window in the S gable at ground-floor level are probably 16th Century features, but the opes have obviously been reduced in height, re-using the original arched heads surmounted by a lintel. The multi-moulded three-light window with horizontal hood-mould in the storey above was probably taken from some other part of the priory. The third-storey gable window has chamfered dressings. The E wall originally had two arched altar recesses, each lit by a two-light, ogee-headed window. Between them are the remains of a double piscina set in a hood-moulded recess; the S piscina is missing. The N and S engaged columns with corresponding spandrels are missing. The altar recesses were partly demolished and rebuilt as simple splayed ingoings with segment-headed rear-arches for the windows. On the S window sill are two 16th century hood-mould stop panels preserving weathered, animal carving and stylised vineleaves. One of these, formerly set in one of the gables, has been incorrectly described as the McSwyne coat of arms (OS Memoirs; O'Flanagan 1927, 20; Moran ed. I, 1873, 213; JRSAI 45 (1915), 223). There are three blocked-up windows devoid of cut stone at second-storey level of the E wall of the transept. Only a small section of the original W transept wall remains at the SW corne