twelfth century, and the head of an earlier window, cut out of one stone, is used as old material in the rubble wall. The original building has a west doorway of the early Irish form, with a round arch above the lintel, leaving a small plain tympanum.[1] The upper part of the west gable has been cut off, and a round belfry-turret built upon it, resting partly on the wall and partly on the stone vault, as is the case in some of the Pembrokeshire churches, which bear considerable resemblance to this building. Similar massive stone vaults are common in the Channel Islands, and in Aquitaine and the Pyrenees, and also, probably, in most places where similar materials are found. The detached round tower is exactly of the same construction, and apparently of the same age, as the round belfry turret; they are within sight of each other, and may be easily compared on the spot.
DOORWAY, SEVEN CHURCHES, CO. WICKLOW.
The detached tower belongs to the cathedral which forms one of the Seven Churches; it has Cyclopean masonry in the lower part of the walls, and small openings, like the round tower, in the upper part; a south doorway and east window have mouldings of the twelfth century; but these are of a different stone (said to be from Caen), and may be insertions. The round tower is 120 feet high, divided into six stories; it has a round-headed
- ↑ It seems probable that this arch and tympanum belong to the work of the twelfth century; the lower parts of the walls are Cyclopean, but this arch is of small stones.
