Gatehouse, Tintern, Co. Wexford

Co. Wexford |

Castle Features

Gatehouse, Tintern, Co. Wexford

The gateway at Tintern Abbey in County Wexford stands as the sole surviving building from the Cistercian abbey's claustral complex, now incorporated into a stable block dating from the late eighteenth to nineteenth century.

This sturdy structure features two archways, each measuring 2.3 metres wide, connected by a square passage approximately 4.2 metres on each side. The western face showcases the gateway's medieval character with its simple arch constructed from red sandstone, complete with chamfered voussoirs; decorative angled cuts that give the stonework its distinctive appearance. The wall exhibits a subtle batter, meaning it slopes slightly inward as it rises, and is topped with stepped crenellations that were actually a later addition by the Colclough family.

The eastern side of the gateway tells a different story of adaptation and change. While the red sandstone jambs, the vertical supports of the arch, remain original, the voussoirs were replaced sometime after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century. This blending of medieval and post medieval elements reflects the building's evolving purpose over the centuries.

Following the abbey's dissolution, the gateway found new life as a coach house, a transformation that required blocking up the western arch and installing doors in the eastern one. This practical conversion ensured the structure's survival whilst adapting it to serve the needs of a working estate, preserving this piece of Cistercian architecture for future generations to study and appreciate.

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