Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a gentle S-facing slope overlooking a small stream (on the S side of the road). The church is of two-period construction and the chancel may have been added in medieval or post-medieval times. It is called 'St. Catherine's Church' and there is reference to a church here belonging to the diocese of Dublin in 1216 (Donnelly 1893). This may already have been of some antiquity. The chancel (int. dims. 8.53m x 4.8m) is of uncoursed masonry (wall T 0.83m) and the E gable and S wall are substantially intact. The door in the S wall has a low pointed arch of two interlocking slabs set in a round-headed embrasure. Sandstone pointed-arched windows occur in the E and S walls. The nave (int. dims. 11.2m x 6.8m) is of roughly coursed rubble (wall T 1.1-1.2m) with alternating courses of slate and schist, and a herringbone detail in the outer face of the N wall. There is a slight indication of bonding between the walls of the two compartments, and the N wall of the nave projects 2m beyond the junction with the chancel. The W end of the nave is poorly preserved but there may have been a door in the centre at the W. There is a door with pointed arch in the S wall. A narrow gap (Wth c. 1m) connected the nave and chancel. The church stands in the centre of a quadrangular graveyard (WI019-001001-) (max. dims. 70m E-W; 40m N-S) enclosed by a modern wall. There are a number of early 18th-century headstones both in the graveyard and in the church.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload/revision: 17 December 2008

References

Donnelly, Rev. N. 1893 Incumbents of Killadreenan and archdeacons of Glendalough in the fifteenth century with extracts from Roman archives. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 23, 123-39.