St Colman’s old church and graveyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Ruinous church aligned roughly E-W within an irregularly shaped graveyard on north side of Bridge Street.

Church is single storey and formerly had a pitched roof, now gone. All walls are coursed rounded granite field stones, lime dashed (fallen off in places). All the larger window openings are now without cills, but retain their brick dressings. The external ground surface has been raised to window cill level on all sides.

South elevation has four equally spaced openings. The second opening from left is a Gothic headed doorway with brick dressings. It is accessed by a sunken pathway bounded by a 2m high rubble stone retaining wall. First and third openings from left are large Gothic headed windows with brick surrounds. Fourth opening from left is a narrow stone-dressed lancet with trefoil head set in an ogee moulding, moulded jambs and sandstone cill.

The left (west) gable is devoid of openings and has a brick built bellcote to gable, attached to which is a modern flagpole.

North elevation has four openings. At extreme left is a narrow stone-dressed rectangular window with chamfered jambs and sandstone cill. The second and fourth are large Gothic headed windows as those on south elevation. The third opening from left is infilled.

The top portion of the right (east) gable is now gone. It has a large Gothic window at centre, similar to those to south elevation.

Graveyard is enclosed by a high modern polygonal granite wall to Bridge Street and by a variety of stone and concrete block walls elsewhere. There are traces of a low earthen bank to north of church, possibly the bank of a former rath.

To west of church is a low rough stone cross with a socket stone at its foot. The grounds also contain many plain stone slabs laid to mark plots. There are also some roughly dressed gravestones (earliest 1727), and some finely dressed memorials (earliest 1798, up to 19th century).

Historical information

Possibly sited on an Early Christian rath, this church is believed to have originated in the 15th or 16th century – the narrow splayed windows at east end of north and south walls probably date to this period. Some of the other openings are probably 17th century but those with brick dressings are 19th century. It was the mother church for Kilkeel Parish.

The church was abandoned for worship in 1818 on completion of Christ Church in Newry St. It was converted into a school in 1816 under the auspices of the Kildare Street Society and was supported by the Earl of Kilmorey. It remained in use until the mid 19th century.

Primary Sources:
1. G.H. Bassett (1886) Co Down Guide and Directory, pp.155-6.
2. Sites & Monuments Record DOW 056:026

Secondary Sources:
1. D. Morehead and V. Stevenson (1988), Kilkeel in the 1830s, in 12 Miles of Mourne, vol.2, p.56.
2. Archaeological Survey Co. Down (1966), p.304 (entry 414.1).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Primarily of interest because of its antiquity and setting within a rath near the town centre.