A round tower was primarily a bell tower, or belfry, as the Irish form of the name cloictheach clearly indicates, and as was proved by George Petrie as long ago as 1845 and never seriously challenged since. A common misconception is that they were used as a place of both refuge and storage, but their strong likeness to chimneys is not merely visual, and they would have been exceptionally poor places to 'hide' in. Generally built in the vicinity of a church or monastery, the door of the round tower was usually aligned with the west doorway of the main church. In this way it is often possible to determine without excavation, the rough site of lost churches, where the tower still exists. These are not to be confused with the round tower churches in England.

Round towers are mostly found in Ireland and Scotland, where they were built, probably between the 9th and 12th century. There are many theories as to why they were built, and it was sometimes thought they were used as a means of defence against raiders, such as Vikings. For example after a lookout posted at the top of the tower spotted a Viking longboat the local population would enter the tower for safety, using a ladder which would be raised from within. The problems with this theory are that the distance from the ground to the doorway is always greater than that from the first floor to the second - hence any wooden ladder would not fit in through the door after the ascent of the refugees. The possibility that rope ladders were used cannot altogether be denied, but it seems far more likely that solid wooden structures were built outside the towers, and postholes found in excavations in the 1990s would confirm this. The towers were also used to store religious relics, and other plunderables. The towers are also thought to have been used to call people to prayer (as a minaret is) through the ringing of its bells.

The towers range in height from 60 to 132 feet, that at Kilmacduagh being the highest in Ireland. The masonry differs according to date, the earliest examples being uncut rubble while the later ones of neatly joined stone work. The lower portion is solid masonry with a single door raised 6 to 20 feet above accessible only by a ladder. Within are two or more floors usually of wood with ladders in between. The windows which were high up were slits in the stone. The roof is of stone, usually conical in shape, and some of the later towers are crowned by a circle of battlements.

In Ireland about 120 examples are thought to have once existed, most are in ruins but about 18 or 20 are almost perfect.

A famous example of a round tower is at Devenish , an island on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. There is also a well-known Irish tower at Glendalough, a popular tourist destination. A round tower exists at Clondalkin. The best example of a round tower in Scotland is at Brechin, in the grounds of the cathedral.

Round towers wider and lower than those in Ireland have been built throughout Europe. The towers of this class in Scotland are called brochs and average about 50 feet high and 30 feet in diamter. As in the Irish towers the entrance is placed some distance from the ground and the whole structure is designed as a stronghold against invaders. The brochs appear to be built by pre-Christian Celts, many bronze and iron fragments have been found in and near these structures. Brochs can be found in Scotland today in the Shetland islands at Mousa Broch the finest surviving broch in the world, and at Keiss Road in Caithness.

During the 6th Century church towers in Ravenna, Italy were usually built round, and not unlike those of Ireland in proportion and style. The most well known example of a round tower is the leaning tower of Pisa, begun in the year 1174. Round towers are also used in Muslim minarets.

See also

• Pele tower
• Rock of Cashel
• broch - Iron Age round towers of Scotland

External links

• Detailed photographic archive of 25 Irish Round Towers
• Article about round towers
• Mousa Broch

References

• Brian Lalor (1999), The Irish Round Tower: Origins and Architecture Explored, ISBN 1898256640
• Roger Stalley(2000), Irish Round Towers, ISBN 1860591140