About the project
The restoration of Cloyne’s Round Tower began in 2022 and intends to create an attractive design for a tourist experience at the Round Tower which would represent an economically viable proposal appropriate to the historic setting of Cloyne.
The progress so far
In 2022 we created a feasibility report. This report is intended to be appropriate for use in communication with various stakeholders and should be utilised as the foundation for a more detailed design in future years. It has been funded by SECAD (South East Cork Area Development).
About the tower
The tower is one of two Round Towers in Co. Cork (the other being the ruined tower at Kinneigh). On a map of the old cemetery and a ground plan of the Cathedral made in 1743 ‘the Steeple’ is stated to be 102ft high and from the ground to the bottom sill of the door 4 yards high. It was also noted on the map ‘that the distance from the Steeple to the Church door is 47yds, 2ft and 9 inches and that the wall of the ground floor in the cleere of the Steeple is 10ft‘. Barrow gives its height as 31.2m in 1985.
The Tower is divided into 7 storeys, the first beginning at door level which is 13ft from the ground and facing south east. The door was at one time approached by a flight of stone steps. In the chapter records for 1795, reference is made to the Steeple steps.
There is a window on every storey, all facing in different directions and of a different size, except on the top storey where there are four windows facing north, south, east and west. The most remarkable window opening is on the fifth storey: angular-headed on the outside but semi-circular-headed on the inside.
The stone roof was destroyed by a violent thunderstorm on the night of January 10th, 1749. Bishop Berkeley in a letter to a friend dated February 2nd 1749 wrote “our Round Tower stands where it did but the little stone arched vault on top cracked.”
Bishop Bennett (1813) states that “the vaulted stone roof of the tower was never repaired but the height was lowered more than six feet and a vile battlement substituted in its stead.”
Design Team Members
The report has been commissioned by the Cloyne Round Tower Restoration Committee in association with the Cloyne District Community Council. This is a community led group whose focus is to safeguard the future of the Round Tower. It hopes that the Round Tower could become accessible to the public once more, which is an objective that this Feasibility Report explores in detail.
The design team consists of the following personnel:
Conservation Architects
Archaeologist
Engineers