Building

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the N side of the road within the old demesne of Longford House. The building is depicted on the 1837 edition of the OS 6-inch map but without the designation 'Old Chapel' which it has on the current edition (1913). The remains are those of a small gabled, single-storey, rectangular building, roofed with slate (4.60m x 1.60m internally; wall thickness 0.45-0.55m). The structure, built of mortared stone and aligned NNW-SSE, is entered by an arched doorway (1.62m H; 0.70m W) in the N gable wall. The upper portion of the building appears to have been rebuilt and the slated roof added, probably in the 20th cent. The E wall is pierced by an arched opening and there is a narrow ope (H 0.44m) in the upper portion of the S gable. It is not possible to accurately determine the function or date of the building but it would appear to be an ornamental feature typcial of 18th century demesnes and may well have been built to house some of the stone carvings set into its walls (SL019-093002-). It is most unlikely to have been used as a chapel - the space within can accommodate little more than two individuals. The possibility that the building dates to pre-1700 AD cannot be ruled out. Listed in the SMR (1989) (1987) and RMP (1995) (1997) as 'Chapel'. (Wood-Martin 1882, I, 116-8; Foras Forbartha report 1973 and 1979).

Compiled by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 19 January 2011