Jerpoint Abbey

About 20 minutes out of Kilkenny is Jerpoint Abbey, one of many abbeys established by Cistercian monks in the twelfth century.  The Jerpoint structures were built and enlarged between 1180 and the 1400s, and they provided a place for the monks to live and worship.

During the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII in the 1530s, the roofs of most abbeys were destroyed to prevent the monks from using them.  After that, Jerpoint passed to wealthy earls and lords and was used as a burial site for these influential families.

Cistercian abbeys all have roughly the same layout, including the main cathedral, a cloister surrounding a courtyard garden, and living space for the monks.  The cloister at Jerpoint is well-preserved, and some of the carvings are still visible in the columns.  It was amazing to walk along the cloister and imagine all the columns containing these carvings.

Bishop's tomb

Carvings on the cloister columns

The cloister viewed from above