Railstown Church (in ruins)

On a rise in undulating terrain in pasture, roughly centrally placed within a graveyard (TS061-125001-). There are earthworks (TS061-125003-) in the surrounding field to the N, E and W. This nave (int. dims. 6.3m N-S; 14.4m E-W) and chancel (int. dims. 4.63m N-S; surviving to 4.83m E-W) church is built of limestone rubble, roughly coursed with crude quoins. There is a slight external base-batter on the W gable (H 1.1m; Wth 0.1m) and N wall. The W gable (H c. 6.2m), the gable of the chancel arch and the walls of the nave (max. H 3.6m; Wth 0.85m) survive to a good height. The church has opposing doorways, roughly centrally placed in the N and S walls of the nave. In both cases the cut-stone door surrounds are gone. The nave was lit by two opposing windows at the E end of the N and S walls and a window in the W gable. All the windows are broken out to a greater or lesser extent and no cut stonework survives. At the E end of the N wall of the nave the wall has largely collapsed and is lying in a large rubble heap. The chancel was entered through a round-headed chancel arch (Wth 2.26m), the central voussoirs of which have collapsed. Of the chancel, most of the S wall (H 2.6m; Wth 0.81m) and the W end of the N wall survive, but the E gable is gone, as are the E ends of both side walls. The chancel has evidence of three windows, the two in the S wall include a broken-out window to W and the W embrasure of the easternmost window, and one in the N wall of which only the E embrasure survives. There are traces of internal render in the chancel and some patches in the nave, particularly on the window embrasure at the E end of the S wall. A possible font (TS061-125002-) is located immediately N of the N wall of the chancel. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Railstown Church, a ruined medieval structure, was likely built in the 13th or 14th century by a local ecclesiastical authority; its nave dimensions suggest a small but functional parish church, and it is situated within a graveyard, indicating long-standing religious significance for the surrounding community.