St. Columb's House

St. Columb's House
St. Columcille's House
Teach Naomh Cholumba
St. Columb's House
53°43′42″N6°52′51″W / 53.728253°N 6.880766°W / 53.728253; -6.880766
Location	Church Lane, Kells, County Meath
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Pre-Reformation Catholic
History
Founder(s)	Cellach mac Congaile, Abbot of Iona
Dedication	Columba
Relics held	Columba (formerly)
Architecture
Heritage designation
National monument of Ireland
Official name	St. Columb's House
Reference no.	108
Style	Celtic monastic
Years built	likely 10th century
Specifications
Length	5.8 m (19 ft)
Width	4.7 m (15 ft)
Height	7 m (23 ft)
Number of floors	3
Floor area	27.3 m2 (294 sq ft)
Administration
Diocese	Meath

St. Columb's House (or St. Columcille's House) is an oratory and National Monument in Kells, County Meath, Ireland. ^[1]

Location

St. Columb's House is located on Church Lane in Kells, immediately northwest of the Abbey of Kells. ^[2]

History

St. Columb's House is today thought to mostly date to the 10th century. It is named after Columba (Colm Cille), whose relics it may once have housed. ^{[3] : 4}

The roof was modified at a later date. The house was used by monks to say the Liturgy of the Hours, or possibly as a shrine church or burial place of an abbot. It once contained a large flat stone called "St Columb's Bed", possibly a grave slab. His relics were brought to Kells in 878, and moved to Skryne Church later before finally going to Downpatrick. ^[4]

Building

St. Columb's House is a rectangular building with a very high pointed roof. Internally there was originally a high floor 1.5 m (5 feet) above the ground, but this is gone.

The loft contains three separate rooms. ^{[3] : 4}

An underground passage connecting the house with the nearby church is mentioned by the Annals of the four Masters and a 17th-century survey. ^{[3] : 4}

References

1. "St. Colmcilles House, Kells, Co. Meath, Ireland - Heritage Town".
2. "Irish Monastic Life".
3. Kells & District (PDF). Kells & District Tourism Forum.
4. Drive, Boyne Valley (1 December 2013). "Kells Town & Monastic Sites".