Old church graveyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A graveyard containing 19th and 20th graves and the ruined gable of a medieval church, enclosed from the street by two sets of 19th century gates and a set of decorative cast iron railings on a limestone rubble wall. Entrances to graveyard face south-east.

The old church ruin comprises a west gable of roughly coursed limestone rubble with hammer-dressed limestone quoins. Later central segmental brick arched opening at ground level, with a small window above it, of 15th century date with a pointed ogee head and chamfered jambs and cill, the south jamb being damaged; pecked dressing visible on head and jambs. Part of dressed stone coping retained on gable which is surmounted by a later, probably 17th century, bell-cote, ashlar built, with a lintelled opening topped by a moulded cornice and roughly triangular much-weathered pediment. Rear face of gable has later modern buttresses flanking the doorway. Interior area of church ruin occupied by burials.

Situated in the graveyard are railinged burial plots including a prominent freestanding tomb with scrolling pediments, pilasters with laurel wreaths and down-turned torches, standing on a podium enclosed by plain iron railings; commemorates members of the Cope family of Drumilly including Reverend Dr Walter Cope who died in 1787.

Enclosing the graveyard along the boundary to the main street is a range of decoratively treated cast iron railings consisting of a number of sets of ornamental spear-headed railings punctuated at intervals by spiral-shafted railings with decorative finials and scrolling brackets at the base, mounted on a snecked limestone rubble wall with dressed stone copings ramped to step up the site from east to west. Rear face of boundary wall is of random rubble. The railings terminate at each end in broad rectangular snecked rubble piers with dressed quoins. At the west end the boundary walling steps back to the left of the terminal pier to form a recessed gateway comprising a pair of plain spiked-railinged gates set between square rubble piers with swept pyramidal caps.

At the east end the boundary walling angles back to the right of the terminal pier to form a slightly recessed gateway containing a pair of finial-railinged gates set between short lengths of canted screen walls with flat tops.

SETTING: The graveyard stands facing the main street with its west gateway immediately opposite the east end of the Manor House gatescreen (HB15/02/003). Boundary to the west formed by a rendered wall which extends to a rubble stone wall northwards. Boundary to north formed by fencing and hedge. Boundary to east formed by a rubble stone wall.

Historical information

Main body of fabric of church is of 15th century date, with alterations and additions probably of early and later 17th century date; the successor to an earlier medieval church mentioned in the Papal Taxation of 1302-6; recorded as "well repaired" in the 'Visitation' of 1622; used as a prison in the Irish rebellion of 1641; in use until 1795 when the present church of Ireland parish church was built to the west of the village centre; old churchyard vested in Armagh District Council from at least the early 20th century; conservation work done on the church ruins in 1960-1.
Precise date of front boundary railings to graveyard not recorded but stylistically they may be dated to the mid-19th century. The graveyard contains vaults containing the remains of the Copes and the Verners and other prominent county Armagh families, and is still in use.
The most architecturally interesting memorial is a freestanding tomb with scrolling pediments, pilasters with laurel wreaths and down-turned torches, standing on a podium enclosed by plain iron railings: commemorates members of the Cope family of Drumilly including the Reverend Dr Walter Cope who died in 1787.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1834, Co Armagh 8.

Secondary Sources
1. S. Lewis, A topographical dictionary of Ireland, Vol II (London, 1837), p 314.
2. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol I: Parishes of County Armagh, 1835-8 (Belfast, 1990), p 79.
3. G.H. Bassett, The Book of County Armagh (Dublin, 1888).
4. J.B. Leslie, Armagh Clergy and Parishes (Dundalk, 1911), pp 351-2.
5. D.A. Chart, ed, A Preliminary Survey of the Ancient Monuments of Northern Ireland (Belfast, 1940), p 62.
6. DOENI, Loughgall: A Conservation Village (Belfast, 1993), pp 3, 28.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a graveyard created around a medieval church ruin (recorded as a monument), which contains no memorials of special architectural interest but has a set of 19th century front boundary railings which are of good quality.