Reginald's Tower

Reginald's Tower

Reginald's Tower in Waterford, Ireland
Location in Ireland
Location of Reginald's Tower in Ireland
General information
Type Fortified tower
Town or city Waterford
Country Ireland
Coordinates 52°15′37.5″N 7°6′19.5″W / 52.260417°N 7.105417°WCoordinates: 52°15′37.5″N 7°6′19.5″W / 52.260417°N 7.105417°W
Construction started 1003
Renovated 13th–14th century
Height 54 ft
Dimensions
Diameter 42½ ft
Technical details
Material Stone

Reginald’s Tower is a historic tower in Waterford, Munster, Ireland. It is located at the eastern end of the city quay. The tower has been in usage for different purposes for many centuries and is an important landmark in Waterford and an important remnant of its medieval urban defence system. It is the oldest civic building in Ireland and it is the only urban monument in Ireland to retain its Norse or Viking name.[1]

Early history

Reginald’s Tower was built in 1003, as part of the city wall, by Reginald (or Ragnall), son of Ivar, the Norse king of Waterford. It was originally built of wood, but was later replaced by the stone structure that exists today.[2] The Norsemen of that period did not commonly use stone as a building material. However, excavations made in the 1990s have revealed that part of Waterford's defences were built in stone prior to the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1170.[3] The present tower is likely to have been built in the 13th or 14th century; it may have been constructed between 1253 and 1280.[4] In 1185 Prince John of England landed in Waterford and organised the rebuilding of the city's defences, including the tower.[3]

The tower is 54 feet high; its horizontal cross section is circular. It is 42½ feet in diameter and is surmounted by a conical roof. A spiral staircase ascends within the thick walls - these are 10 feet wide at the base, tapering down to 7 feet at the top. It was part of the ancient city walls of Waterford and could be considered the apex of a triangle formed by three structures – Turgesius Tower on Barronstrand Street, St. Martins Castle on Lady Lane, and Reginald’s Tower at the quay and the mall.[5] It was strategically located on the high ground between a branch of St. John's River on the southeast (since drained, and now known as the Mall) and the River Suir to the north. It is also very close to the historic French Church. The site is sometimes called Dundory (an Irish word which means "fort of oak"), and hence the tower is occasionally called the Dundory Tower. It is also known as the Ring Tower.[4] It was one of seventeen towers which encircled the city of Waterford in medieval times. Today it is the largest of the six surviving towers, which are considered the finest examples of medieval urban defence in Ireland.[3] The other surviving towers are the Watch Tower, Double Tower, French Tower, Semi-Lunar Tower and Beach Tower.[6]

The tower derives its name from the Hiberno-Norse (Irish-Viking) ruler of the city, Ragnall MacGillemaire, who was held prisoner by the Anglo-Normans in the tower.[7] When the Normans, led by Richard de Clare, attacked Waterford in 1170, the tower was of strategic importance, and its capture heralded the fall of the city. During the medieval period, the tower continued to be surrounded by water on its north and southeast sides.

Medieval history

The tower has been used as a mint,[3] a prison, and a military storehouse. It is also famous for being the location of the wedding of Richard de Clare, the second Earl of Pembroke, and Aoife (pronounced eefa), daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster.[7] It occasionally served as a royal castle, and was visited by King John in 1210, who ordered new coins to be struck there. Richard II visited the tower in 1394 and again in 1399.[3] He used the tower to store his munitions. On 27 July 1399 Richard left Reginald's Tower as King of England and Wales; on his arrival in England he was captured by the future Henry IV and forced to abdicate.

In 1463, coins were minted in Reginald's Tower by order of the Irish Parliament, which, at that time, was meeting in the city. The coins had the words "Civitas Waterford" struck on one side. In 1495, the tower’s cannons successfully deterred the forces of Perkin Warbeck, the pretender to the throne of Henry VII. Cannons from the tower sank one of his ships during an 11 day siege. This was the first successful use of artillery by an Irish city. A cannon from this ship was recovered from the River Suir in 1901.[3] This victory earned the city its motto Urbs Intacta Manet - "Waterford remains the unconquered city".[8]

In 1649, Waterford was besieged by the army of the English parliamentarian Oliver Cromwell, but he failed to capture the city on that occasion. They returned in 1650, and this time they were successful. A cannonball, visible high up the wall on the north side of the building, is lodged firmly in the wall, and is reputed to be from this siege.[9]

In 1690, following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne, James II of England is said to have climbed to the top of the tower to take a last look at his lost kingdom before embarking for exile in France.[10]

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the tower was used to store munitions. In the early 19th century it functioned as a prison.

Present day

Reginald's Tower and the quay in the 1890s

In 1861, Reginald's Tower became the property of the Waterford Corporation,[9] and the residence of the Chief Constable of Waterford. It continued to be inhabited until 1954, when the last resident left and the building was turned into a museum. During the Emergency it functioned as an air raid shelter.[11] It currently houses the Waterford Viking Museum and exhibits many of the archaeological finds from the 2003 dig at Woodstown on the River Suir near the city.[10]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reginald's Tower.

References

  1. ↑ McEneaney, 2001. Discover Waterford, O'Brien Press p. 70. ISBN 9780862786564.
  2. ↑ Smith 1746, p. 97.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Reginald's Tower, visitors guide, Office of Public Works
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 J.S. Carroll, Decies Journal XXVI Summer 1984. pp.22–27
  5. ↑ Smith 1746, p. 166.
  6. ↑ McEneaney 2001, pp. 96–104.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Power 1933, p. 20.
  8. ↑ Power 1933, p. 44.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Walsh 1968, p. 13.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 McEneaney 2001, p. 72.
  11. ↑ Walsh 1968, p. 14.

Bibliography

External links