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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ecclesiastical enclosure

Portnashangan, County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ecclesiastical enclosure, Portnashangan, County Westmeath, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Portnashangan
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Not indicated
Latest-edition OS map
Not indicated
Coordinates
53.58699, -7.38377
SMR number
WM012-086002-

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1811 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated at N end of ridge running N-S overlooking Lough Owel 300m to the SW. Ringfort (WM012-087----) 60m to E with another ringfort (WM012-098----) 70m to SW. The ruins of Portnashangan church (WM012-086----) stands in the centre of a circular-shaped graveyard (WM012-086001-) enclosed by an earthen bank and faced with a stone wall of post-1700 appearance. The enclosing earthen bank sits on top of the stone wall suggesting contemporaneity rather than dating from the Early Christian period.
Described in 1980 as following; ‘a small subcircular graveyard which is surrounded by a bank with a stone wall built against its outer face. There are a few 19th century headstones in the burial ground. No earthworks visible’ (SMR File 23/10/1980). According to Swan (1988, 10) the segmental form of the graveyard boundary wall suggested the presence of an Early Christian ecclesiastical enclosure.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 20 August 2015

References

Swan, D.L. 1988 The Early Christian ecclesiastical sites of County Westmeath. In J. Bradley (ed.), Settlement and society in Medieval Ireland: studies presented to F.X. Martin O.S.A., 1-31. Kilkenny. Boethius Press.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Ecclesiastical enclosure in Westmeath All County Westmeath records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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