Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Named ‘Templesenan’ on the OS 6-inch maps and situated on an E-W ridge on Scattery Island c. 140m NW from the cathedral (CL067-024008-). A nave and chancel church built as a single structure. The nave (int. dims. 6.55m E-W; 5.22m N-S) is virtually complete but the walls of the chancel (int. dims. 3.1m E-W; 3.3m N-S) are reduced to 1.6m. The chancel arch (Wth 2.1m) had piers with double and triple mouldings and is reduced to the base stones. There was also a central pilaster in the width of the arch. A pointed doorway (Wth 0.8m; H 2m) in the S wall of the nave has Dundry stone, Old Red Sandstone and slate in its arch and drawbar sockets in the E and W jambs. A window in the S wall has sandstone ingoings and some diagonal tooling. The E window (Wth 0.21m; H 0.9m) is also round-headed with a similar mixture of arch stones, decoratively arranged. Its embrasure is flat-arched and probably rebuilt. The E wall has a slight internal plinth and an external base batter but over the window the wall leans out dramatically. Corbels at the W end of the N and S walls supported a gallery. There are external buttresses against the E and W ends of the S wall of the nave and one against the W end of the N wall. According to Ní Ghrádaigh (2006, 26-7) St Senan's was rebuilt at some time in the later Middle Ages, as indicated by the pointed form of the doorway and the segmental rear-arch of the window, but utilizing stones from an earlier building, perhaps from elsewhere on the island. A church-like building known as St Senan’s Bed (CL067-024002-) lies just 1.1m to the W. (Westropp 1897, 285; 1900-02, 170) This is a national monument in state care, no. 10.

The following images have been uploaded:
CL067-024002-_01.jpg Aerial view of Templesenan with St Senan's bed immediately to W.
CL067-024002-_02.jpg Ground shot of Templesenan and St Senan's bed.

Compiled by: Michael Moore and Mary Tunney

Date of upload: 7 September 2016

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 1/1971).

References

Westropp, T.J. 1897 Descriptive sketch of places visited. Part 1. Scattery Island and Canons' island, Co. Clare. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 27, 273-90.

Ní Ghrádaigh, J. 2006 Scattery Island's forgotten Romanesque. Archaeology Ireland 20, (4), 26-30.

Westropp, T.J. 1900-02 The churches of Co. Clare and the origin of the ecclesiastical divisions in that county. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series 3, vol. 6, 100-180.