Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a small hill in an undulating landscape. The site of an early church that became the parish church of Knock, consisting of what is now one townland, is within a subrectangular graveyard (dims c. 52m E-W; c. 46m N-S) defined by earthen banks and hedges. A church at Knockmark in the deanery of Slane is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV (Cal. doc. Ire. 5, 261), but Knock is not listed as a church by Ussher (1622) or Dopping (1682-5) in either the Slane or Kells deaneries (Ellison 1973; Erlington 1847-64, 1, lxxxvii-xcvii). A small structure (dims c. 10m E-W; c. 5m N-S) is depicted within the graveyard on the 1836 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, but the remains were described as slight (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 236). Cogan (1862-70, 2, 284) says that the church was contracted for Protestant service and gives dimensions of ’37 feet by 21 feet (c. 11.3m x c. 6.4m)’, but no trace of a church is visible now.
The head of a small high cross of sandstone (H 0.61m; Wth 0.47) with a solid ring and interlace decoration in relief is protruding from the ground at the NE angle of the graveyard (Crawford 1926, 3; Harbison 1992, vol. 1, 135, No. 164). There is a small, rectangular bullaun stone (dims 0.43m x 0.42m; H 0.25m) with a single basin (dims 0.25 x 0.27m; D 0.1m) beside it. An eight-sided font (ext. dim 0.56m; H 0.4m) with a flat-bottomed, circular basin (int. diam. 0.41m; D 0.29m) and small chamfered under-panels is inside the gate (Cogan 1862-70, 284). A reference to a cross-slab (Moore 1987, 138) is an error.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 11 December, 2014

References

Ellison, Rev. C. C. 1971-5 Bishop Dopping's Visitation Book 1682-5, Ríocht na Mídhe, 5, 1, 28-39; 5, 2, 3-13; 5, 3, 3-11; 5, 4, 98-103; 6, 1, 3-13.

Cogan, Rev. A. 1862-70 Ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Meath: ancient and modern. (3 vols) Dublin: John Fowler, Joseph Dollard

Crawford, H.S. 1926 The early crosses of east and west Meath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 56, 1-10.

Cal. doc. Ire. - Calendar of documents relating to Ireland 1171-1307, ed. H.S. Sweetman (5 vols., London, 1875-86).

Harbison, P. 1992 The high crosses of Ireland: an iconographical and photographic survey, 3 vols. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy. Bonn. Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH.

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.

Moore, M. 1987 Archaeological inventory of county Meath. Dublin. Stationery Office.

Erlington, C. R. (ed.) 1847-64 The whole works of the most Reverend James Ussher. 17 vols. Hodges and Smith, Dublin