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Reginald's Tower
Reginald’s Tower is a historic tower in Waterford, Munster, Ireland. It is located at the eastern end of the city quay. The tower has been in usage for different purposes for many centuries and is an important landmark in Waterford and an important remnant of its medieval urban defence system. It is the oldest civic building in Ireland and it is the only urban monument in Ireland to retain its Norse or Viking name.〔McEneaney, 2001. ''Discover Waterford'', O'Brien Press p. 70. ISBN 9780862786564.〕
== Early history ==
Reginald’s Tower was built in 1003, as part of the city wall, by Reginald (or Ragnall), son of Ivar, the Norse king of Waterford. It was originally built of wood, but was later replaced by the stone structure that exists today. The Norsemen of that period did not commonly use stone as a building material. However, excavations made in the 1990s have revealed that part of Waterford's defences were built in stone prior to the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1170.〔''Reginald's Tower'', visitors guide, Office of Public Works〕 The present tower is likely to have been built in the 13th or 14th century; it may have been constructed between 1253 and 1280.〔J.S. Carroll, ''Decies Journal'' XXVI Summer 1984. pp.22–27〕 In 1185 Prince John of England landed in Waterford and organised the rebuilding of the city's defences, including the tower.〔
The tower is 54 feet high; its horizontal cross section is circular. It is 42½ feet in diameter and is surmounted by a conical roof. A spiral staircase ascends within the thick walls - these are 10 feet wide at the base, tapering down to 7 feet at the top. It was part of the ancient city walls of Waterford and could be considered the apex of a triangle formed by three structures – Turgesius Tower on Barronstrand Street, St. Martins Castle on Lady Lane, and Reginald’s Tower at the quay and the mall. It was strategically located on the high ground between a branch of St. John's River on the southeast (since drained, and now known as the Mall) and the River Suir to the north. It is also very close to the historic French Church. The site is sometimes called Dundory (an Irish word which means "fort of oak"), and hence the tower is occasionally called the Dundory Tower. It is also known as the Ring Tower.〔 It was one of seventeen towers which encircled the city of Waterford in medieval times. Today it is the largest of the six surviving towers, which are considered the finest examples of medieval urban defence in Ireland.〔 The other surviving towers are the Watch Tower, Double Tower, French Tower, Semi-Lunar Tower and Beach Tower.
The tower derives its name from the Hiberno-Norse (Irish-Viking) ruler of the city, Ragnall MacGillemaire, who was held prisoner by the Anglo-Normans in the tower. When the Normans, led by Richard de Clare, attacked Waterford in 1170, the tower was of strategic importance, and its capture heralded the fall of the city. During the medieval period, the tower continued to be surrounded by water on its north and southeast sides.
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