Church (Site of)

Located on a small hill in an undulating landscape. The site of an early church that became the parish church of Knock, consisting of what is now one townland, is within a subrectangular graveyard (dims c. 52m E-W; c. 46m N-S) defined by earthen banks and hedges. A church at Knockmark in the deanery of Slane is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV (Cal. doc. Ire. 5, 261), but Knock is not listed as a church by Ussher (1622) or Dopping (1682-5) in either the Slane or Kells deaneries (Ellison 1973; Erlington 1847-64, 1, lxxxvii-xcvii). A small structure (dims c. 10m E-W; c. 5m N-S) is depicted within the graveyard on the 1836 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, but the remains were described as slight (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 236). Cogan (1862-70, 2, 284) says that the church was contracted for Protestant service and gives dimensions of ’37 feet by 21 feet (c. 11.3m x c. 6.4m)’, but no trace of a church is visible now. The head of a small high cross of sandstone (H 0.61m; Wth 0.47) with a solid ring and interlace decoration in relief is protruding from the ground at the NE angle of the graveyard (Crawford 1926, 3; Harbison 1992, vol. 1, 135, No. 164). There is a small, rectangular bullaun stone (dims 0.43m x 0.42m; H 0.25m) with a single basin (dims 0.25 x 0.27m; D 0.1m) beside it. An eight-sided font (ext. dim 0.56m; H 0.4m) with a flat-bottomed, circular basin (int. diam. 0.41m; D 0.29m) and small chamfered under-panels is inside the gate (Cogan 1862-70, 284). A reference to a cross-slab (Moore 1987, 138) is an error. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 11 December, 2014