Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On a WSW-facing slope in pasture, within a graveyard (LF013-026002-). According to Farrell (1891, 218), this church 'was built in the twelfth century by O'Farrell of Longford'. In 1542 the rectory of 'Ballacormyke' was leased to Walter Tirrell (Nicholls 1994, vol. 1, 37). It is depicted on the Down Survey (1655-6) map of Ballymacormick parish (NLI MS 713). Farrell (1891, 217) noted that the S, W and N walls were in good condition, and the windows were of ‘the most ancient pattern’. The ‘number of small square holes’ noted in the W gable as well as the first-floor window (ibid.) suggested that there was a two-storey priest’s residence at the W end of the church.
This nave and chancel parish church (ext. dims. c. 20m E-W; 8m N-S; wall T 0.9m) is constructed of random rubble masonry and is densely overgrown with ivy. The S wall and W gable (H c. 3.2m) of the nave are the best preserved sections. Only a short stretch of the N wall (L c. 6m) is upstanding. Of the chancel only the W end of the S wall (L c. 4.8m) survives. There is no visible surface trace of the E gable. All the surviving architectural features are in the S wall and include the pointed, cut-stone, limestone doorway at the W end of the nave. Its jambstones are chamfered and display pock dressing of late-medieval date with a blank margin running around the edge. A possible splayed window embrasure is also evident in the nave and in the chancel there is an ivy-covered narrow single-light ogee-headed window with an external hood-moulding. The nave (int. dims. 6.2m N-S; 5.75m E-W) was divided from the chancel by a segmental arch, no trace of which survives. The remains of the S half of the dividing wall of the priest's residence (int. dims. c. 6.2m N-S; 5.1m E-W) are evident at the W end. A lugged mortar or a stoup (diam. 0.23m; D 0.1m) has been cemented on top of this wall. A centrally located doorway in it accessed the nave. Due to overgrowth there was no trace of the beam-holes, noted by Farrell (ibid.), for the wooden floor joists that supported the first floor. Also in the church are a number of graves and memorials dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. It is possible that the priest's quarters and ogee-headed window may have been inserted into an earlier medieval nave and chancel church in the 16th century. This rebuilding phase may relate to the following noted by Farrell (ibid.) an 'old inhabitant of the parish says that at the time of the introduction of the Reformation into this county, the Reformers thought to make a church out of the chapel, and did roof it for this purpose'. The external walls of the church were repointed with ribbon cement-pointing in the 1950s (local information). (ITA Survey 1944)

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 5 June 2013