Kilbixey
St Biseachs – Kilbixy
Has Recently been restored
Lord Sunderlin built this present church in 1798 and is believed to be designed by the famous Architect James Wyatt, who also designed Coole Castle in Enniskillen and The Senior Common Rooms and Senior Library of Oriel College, Oxford to name but a few.
In the 1960’s the ceiling of the original church collapsed and it was considered beyond the means of the parishioners to restore the elaborate ceiling. The result is that the building has been divided into two parts, one part forms the present open courtyard and the remainder was re-roofed to form the church. Beside the church are the unique ruins of one of the few leper hospitals in Ireland.
The ruined walls of this hospital are four feet thick with two large window openings – a structure similar to the keep of a Norman Castle.
Beside the church, is a Mausoleum built at the same time, with a vault underneath the floor where four of the Malone family are buried, including Lord Sunderlin and his brother, the celebrated literary expert “Shakespeare” Malone.
Lord Sunderlin built this present church in 1798 and is believed to be designed by the famous Architect James Wyatt, who also designed Coole Castle in Enniskillen and The Senior Common Rooms and Senior Library of Oriel College, Oxford to name but a few.In the 1960’s the ceiling of the original church collapsed and it was considered beyond the means of the parishioners to restore the elaborate ceiling. The result is that the building has been divided into two parts, one part forms the present open courtyard and the remainder was re-roofed to form the church. Beside the church are the unique ruins of one of the few leper hospitals in Ireland.
The ruined walls of this hospital are four feet thick with two large window openings – a structure similar to the keep of a Norman Castle.
Beside the church, is a Mausoleum built at the same time, with a vault underneath the floor where four of the Malone family are buried, including Lord Sunderlin and his brother, the celebrated literary expert “Shakespeare” Malone.