Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Known locally as Kilcolumb church and graveyard (WM021-008001-). No church is depicted in this townland on the 1655 Down Survey map of Farbill Barony (NLI MS 723-4). In pasture, at N end of N-S ridge in undulating countryside overlooking valley and River Deel 35m to W. Sub-rectangular shaped graveyard (WM021-008001-) with ruins of a small church standing in S quadrant of graveyard that is depicted on all editions of the OS six-inch maps. Present remains consist of a rectangular structure (int. dims. 8.6m E-W; 5.35m N-S; wall T 0.45-0.6m) with entrance gap (Wth 1.1m) in centre of E wall that has been repointed and partially rebuilt c. 2010. This structure or church may have been built on the footprint of a medieval church although today there are no surface remains visible for the existence of a medieval church inside this graveyard. The thin walls of this structure suggest that this building dates from the post medieval period. Inside the structure are the remains of a memorial dating from the 19th century along with concrete crosses of recent date. The walls of this structure have been mainly repointed and the tops of the walls have been rebuilt with a concrete triangular headed window inserted into centre of W wall. All of these works appear to date from c. 2010 and it is not clear if any walls of this rebuilt structure belong to the medieval church that is depicted on the OS 6-inch maps. It is possible that this structure was built in the post medieval period on the site of the medieval church. The structure may have been built to serve as a post-medieval church or as a private burial area in order to enclose the 20th century memorial standing in the centre of this structure. In 2010 the walls of this building appear to have been rebuilt to form the present structure visible today. In 1980 the remains of this building depicted as a church on the OS 6-inch map was described as consisting of ‘some fragments of stone walls, almost totally obscured by ivy and briars. They seem to be the remains of the SE and SW walls of a rectangular stone built structure whose long axis lay NW-SE. The walls are built of rough limestone laid in courses and bond with mortar. No dressed stone or features are visible. The original outline of the structure is not discernible but it seems to have been quite small and probably of late date. The graveyard contains memorials dating from the post-medieval period onwards. No evidence of any earthworks or trace of an ecclesiastical enclosure in the fields surrounding the graveyard.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 15 October 2014

References

NLI, MS 723-4 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.