Hermitage

The National Monuments Service's description

Known locally as St. Faned's Cell. Located in area of fairly good pasture land on south flank of Glencolumbkille valley floor and overlooking the eastern end of the valley floor. It is suggested that this is the site of a third pilgrimage round (St. Faned's turas) but all tradition about it is lost (Herity 1971). Small stone walled structure built up against a low rock face and now incorporated into a modern field wall boundary. The cell uses the rock face to form its south and west sides with walling added to form the north and east sides. Internal dimensions of cell are 3.75m E-W by 1.6m N-S, wall measures 1.48m high. Jagged rock face, sloping inwards, forms the south side of cell. Rock face extends out at right angles for distance of 1.3m to form the west side of the cell. Height of rock face on west side is 0.8m, dry stone walling of height 0.35m built on top of rock face of west side, (therefore total height of west wall is 1.15m). North wall of cell is crudely built , dry stone walled, coursing of large, flat thick slabs with spaces between these slabs infilled with smaller stones. Width of east wall measures 0.62m. Entrance on east wall measuring 1m high by 0.59m wide. North jamb of entrance consisting of coursing of fairly regular, squared, flat slabs. South jamb of entrance formed by two large, rounded, flat faced boulders that are laid end to end, on and continuing, the line of the rock face on south side of cell. Entrance roofed by lintel slab measuring 1.03m long x 0.25m high x 0.6m wide. Roof constructed with large slabs with flat bottom face that span the top of the rock face of the south side of cell and the top of the north wall. Modern field wall also joins onto the SE corner of cell. External top of cell almost flush with external ground level on south and west sides. Dimensions of external top of cell measure 2.5m N-S x 4.5m E-W.

Date of revision : 16 May 2009
Caimin O'Brien