What is recorded here

Broken limestone slabs from the late medieval period still lie within the railings of St Peter's churchyard, preserving Elcock coats of arms and Latin letters beneath the open sky. The oldest visible tombstone dates to 1571, while another marks Nicholas Elcock in 1594, both surviving beside a church rebuilt in 1753. They are not display cases or polished monuments, but buried-edge fragments that have waited through rain, hoof traffic and forgotten ceremonies. To stand among them is to touch a place where death was once arranged with pride, visibility and craft.

Within the grounds of the present St Peter's (Church of Ireland) church, which dates to 1753 (Garner 1986, 10), and on the site of the medieval parish church (LH024-041004-) are the remains of several late medieval tomb fragments. (See also LH024-041015- and LH024-041094- to LH024-041101-). In the churchyard and located within the railings on the N side of the church are two tombstones, dated 1571 (LH024-041093-) and 1594 (LH024-041094-), of the Elcock family. One consists of a very badly broken rectangular limestone slab with incised lettering on the margin. It has two coats of arms in false relief, one of Elcock and Fitzwilliam, the other of Elcock and an unknown family (Garner 1986, 13). The other one is of Nicholas Elcock, 1594, and consists of a narrow limestone slab decorated with the Elcock arms, wreathed in a recessed roundel. Above the roundel in Roman capitals are the letters N. IHS. E, and below the roundel is an inscription in Latin (JAPMD IV, 273). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 21 June 2013

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