Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth: a study of its post-dissolution architecture 1540–1727

Abstract:In the period after the Acts of Suppression a great number of former monasteries were converted to domestic use by leading Crown favourites who took advantage of their position to transform cloistral buildings into residential mansions. Among the privileged few was the Moore family, originally from Kent, in the south of England, who eventually became the owners of three dissolved Cistercian estates in Ireland namely, Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth; Monasterevin, Co. Kildare; and St Mary's Abbey, Dublin City. The recent discovery of an early eighteenth century plan of Mellifont House provides an opportunity to review historical, architectural, archaeological and cartographic evidence in order to determine the legacy of the Moore family at Mellifont during almost 200 years in residence. This paper also highlights the significant role played by Mellifont in the dramatic political events of that period.