Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On the gentle W-facing slope above the river Gloshia c. 1km to the E. There are good views across and along valley from N to S, view limited to W by rising ground. Kilmacar Castle (KK010-038003-) was located 60m to the SW. Within the southern portion of a graveyard (KK010-038002-). According to the OS Letters (1839, 27-9) the W gable had, ‘a public house built up against it on the outside, the door of which is within one foot of the graves’ (O’Flanagan ed. 1930, vol. 1, 9-10). This building, which fronts onto the public road, is indicated on the 1st (1839) ed. OS 6-inch map abutting the W gable of the church and running roughly northward, at right angles to the gable. The building is no indicated on the subsequent 1947 revision map.
A rectangular structure consisting of undivided nave and chancel (int. dims. L 16.6m; Wth 5.9m; wall T 0.9m), built of coursed large blocks and small slabs, bonded with a gritty mortar, aligned E-W. The W end of the church is the best preserved, including the W gable (H c. 5m) and the N and S walls (L 3.55m; H c. 2m) W of opposing doorways. The remainder of the church survives as low wall-footings (H c. 0.5m) with a gap of 2m in the N wall. The N doorway (Wth 1.05m) has a dressed sandstone surround, chamfered externally, the top of the doorway is missing. The doorway embrasure has a drawbar-hole in the W side. The S doorway is broken out (Wth of gap 1.4m). The W gable has a set-back (H 2m above int. ground level) to support a timber gallery.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 5 December 2018

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1930 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Kilkenny collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Bray.