Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On a prominent E-W ridge running along the S bank of the River Nore. The slight elevation gives a commanding view across the Nore valley in all directions and over the fording point of the river. The church, orientated E-W, is situated in the N portion of a roughly rectangular graveyard (KK014-0225007-). According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 268) the patron of the church was St Nicholas.
The rectangular church (surviving int. L 11.8m; int. Wth 6.05m; wall T 1.5m), is poorly preserved. The E gable has collapsed and a later wall built on the line of the gable. There is a later residential tower or presbytery at the W end. The original W gable of the church has been replaced by the E wall of the residential tower. The church was entered via a pointed doorway (Wth 1.25m) with punch dressing, blocked up, roughly mid-way along the N wall. There is a stoup in the internal face of the N wall, immediately E of the entrance. The church was lit by two flat-headed windows in the S wall, both largely blocked up and by at least one window in the N wall towards the E end. In the 18th/19th the church was reused as a mausoleum for the family at Threecastles House.
Carrigan (ibid. 267) describes the church as, 'about 40 ft. [c. 12m] long and 22 ft. [6.7m] wide, the walls being 5 ft. [c. 1.2m] thick, and very strongly built. There are two flat-headed, cut-stone loops in the south side-wall, each 2 ft. 6 in. [0.76m] high and 10 in. [0.26m] wide on the outside; there are two similar loops in the opposite wall. The entrance door, which is in the middle of the north wall, is of cut-stone, round-headed, and 6 ft. [c. 1.8m] high by 3 ft. [c. 0.9m] wide on the outside; it is some feet over the ground, and hence, must have been formerly approached by means of a stairs or steps of wood or stone. The east gable, which fell or was thrown down long ago, has been rebuilt to the height of 10 [c. 3m] or 12 ft. [c. 3.6m]. The OS Letters (1839) mention, 'an old holy water font [stoup] fixed in the wall on the right hand as you go in' and also noted that the E gable had collapsed and had been 'lately built up for some farm purpose' (O'Flanagan ed. 1930, vol. 1 (201). There is a residential tower (KK014-025004-) attached to the W which shares the W wall of the church and is described by Carrigan (ibid.) as, 'the presbytery, a strong castle 35 ft. [c. 10.6m] long, with walls 8 [c. 2.4m] or 9 ft. [c. 2.7m] thick...it is at present about 24 ft. [c. 7.3m] high'. Several medieval graveslab fragments (KK014-025008- to KK014-025012-) have been found in the graveyard, including one (KK014-025009-) which may date from the 13th/14th century.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 20 May 2020

References

Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.

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.