Bullaun stone in Bewley

Situated on the floodplain of the S-N Finisk River, on the E bank with the river c. 20m to the W. This is reputedly a house of the Knights Templar (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 329), but there are no medieval sources. There is a bullaun stone (dims. 0.76m x 0.33m; H 0.2m) with a single basin (diam. 0.18m; D 8cm) embed in the ground at the centre of the rectangular walled enclosure (WA029-024004-) to the N of the church (WA029-024001-). (Power 1898a, 94-5) Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R. N. (1970) (reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses in Ireland. Irish Academic Press, Dublin. Power, Rev. P. (1898a) Ancient ruined churches of Co. Waterford, WAJ 4, 83-95, 195-219. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 26 July 2011

Likely dating to the early medieval period, the Bullaun stone in Bewley may have been used for ritual Christian purposes, such as the anointing of the sick. Its association with the Knights Templar is unconfirmed and lacks supporting medieval evidence.