Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the E-facing slope of a slight N-S ridge. A preceptory of the Knights Templars at Killure is thought to have passed to the Hospitallars after 1312, but it is likely to have been a Hospitallar site from the beginning. Brother Hughes is described as Preceptor in 1300, but there are no references to Preceptors after 1347. By the Suppression in 1541 it was already farmed out (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 334, 337) but the church continued as the parish church of Killure, although it is described as in ruins by 1615 (Anon. 1902, 110).
An undifferentiated structure (int. dims. 15.1m E-W; 6.5m N-S), probably 13th century in date, of which the W gable and most of the N and S walls survive, although completely obscured by ivy. There are the remains of at least six lancet windows — two low-down in the N wall, one in the W wall and three (possibly five) in the S wall. Two of the windows are placed above the destroyed doorway in the S wall, and all are blocked and obscured by ivy which also conceals the double belfry surmounting the W gable (Power 1890-91, 479). A section of wall (L 3.6m; H c. 4m) with a buried arch on the S face, c. 40m S of the church, and slight scarps extending N-S from this wall to the church and c. 40m to the W may be the boundary of the now grass-covered church precinct, although J. O'Donovan c. 1840 (O'Flanagan 1929, 12) describes it as a building (WA017-018002-).

Anon. (1902) Documents illustrating the history of Waterford: 1 - The Protestant diocese of Waterford in 1615. WAJ 8, 103-19.
Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R. N. (1970) (reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses in Ireland. Irish Academic Press, Dublin.
O'Flanagan, M. (Compiler) (1929) Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Waterford collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. Typescript. Bray.
Power, Rev. P. (1890-91) The ancient ruined churches of Co. Warterford. JRSAI 20-21, 475-82.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 05 January 2011