Newtown Abbey
{{short description|Ruined medieval monastery, County Meath, Ireland}}
{{about||the Benedictine priory in the United States|Newton Abbey|the town in Northern Ireland|Newtownabbey}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use Irish English|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox monastery
|name= Newtown Abbey
|other_names= Abbey of St Peter and St Paul
| native_name = Mainistir an Bhaile Nua
| native_name_lang = ga
| image = Newtown Abbey Cathedral west.jpg
|caption = West wall of the abbey church
|order= Canons Regular
|founder= Simon Rochfort
|established= c. 1206
|disestablished= 1537
|diocese= Meath
| status = Inactive
| style = Norman
|people=
|location= Newtown, Trim, County Meath
|coordinates = {{coord|53.555252|-6.773247|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| map_type = Ireland
| public_access = yes
|website =
| remains =
| heritage_designation = National Monument
| embedded = {{Infobox designation list
| embed =yes
| designation2 = National Monument of Ireland
| designation2_offname = Newtown Abbey
| designation2_number = 110
}}
}}
Newtown Abbey is a medieval monastery and National Monument located in Trim, County Meath, Ireland.
Location
Newtown Abbey is located about 1.2 km (¾ mile) east of Trim town centre, on the north bank of the Boyne.
History
The Abbey was founded by Simon Rochfort, Bishop of Meath, for Canons Regular ("Augustinians") of the Order of St. Victor about 1206, and was dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul.{{cite web|url=http://www.libraryireland.com/Antiquities/III-I.php|title=Irish Abbeys|publisher=libraryireland.com|accessdate=2015-12-09}}
A synod was held at Newtown in 1216, which turned the sees of the churches of Trim, Kells, Slane, Skryne, and Dunshaughlin into rural deaneries.
In 1307, Richard Sweetman, the prior, was accused of murdering Robert Mody, one of the canons, and of assisting his brother, William Sweetman, to kill another canon. The prior gave Hugh de Lacie and John le Blounde, of Rathregan, as bail for his appearance at the next assizes. There is no record of the result of the trial.
William Shirwood, Bishop of Meath, was interred at Newtown Abbey in 1482.
The Abbey was suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537.
Buildings
File:Newtown Trim Cathedral.JPGs.]]
The main building is the Church of St Peter and St Paul (sometimes called a cathedral). The abbey church features lancet windows, with Norman-style sedilia to the right of the altar, and a double piscina for washing communion vessels.{{cite web|url=http://irelandinruins.blogspot.ie/2012_04_01_archive.html|title=Ireland In Ruins: April 2012|publisher=irelandinruins.blogspot.ie|accessdate=2015-12-09}}
A smaller church in the east of the monastery is the parish church of Newtown Clonbun. This is the burial site of Lucas Dillon (1530 – 1592), Attorney General for Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and his first wife Jane Bathe. Their tomb effigies are separated by a sword of state, and so they gained the local nickname of the "jealous man and woman".{{cite book|title=Journal of a Tour in Ireland, A.D. 1806|author=Hoare, R.C.|date=1807|issue=pt. 1806|publisher=W. Miller, ... and for J. Archer, and M. Mahon, Dublin.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHgRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA269|page=269|accessdate=2015-12-09}}{{cite web|url=http://www.boynevalleydrive.ie/boyne-valley-drive/heritage-sites/newtown-monuments|title=Newtown Monuments | Boyne Valley Meath, Ireland|publisher=boynevalleydrive.ie|accessdate=2015-12-09}}