Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated at the N tip of a low SW-NE spur, with a small SE-NW fold and stream c. 30m to the NE and a SW-NE section of the River Boyne c. 110m to the NW. A church at Turbirvile is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV (Cal. doc. Ire., 5, 255). Ussher (1622) describes the parish church and chancel as completely ruinous. According to Dopping’s visitation (1682-5) the church and chancel of St Luke at Trubly (alias Tubberville) had been ruined since 1641 and the graveyard was not enclosed (Ellison 1972, 7).
The fragmentary foundations of a divided nave (int. dims 10.55m E-W; 5.5m N-S) and chancel (int. dims 5.5m E-W; 3.5m N-S) structure is represented by the foundations of walls (Wth 0.8m-1m; H 0.1-0.3m normally to 0.8m at W). Doorways and other features cannot be recognised. A fragment of the basin of an octagonal font with a circular basin (int. diam. 0.53m) recorded in 1969 (SMR file) is now missing. It has a shallow chamfer underneath (dim. of base 0.36m; H of fragment 0.16m). The church is depicted as being in a D-shaped graveyard (dims c. 48m ENE-WSW; c. 37m NNW-SSE) with fairly straight sides at E and S only on the 1909 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, but the graveyard and its perimeter had been removed before 1969. Burials have been encountered within living memory in the vicinity of the church, which is kept under pasture, with some bushes at the W and E ends.

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: 10 March, 2015

References

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

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.

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