Horseleap Church (Ardnurcher or Horseleap)

Freestanding Church of Ireland church, built c.1810, comprising three-bay hall with attached three-stage tower on square-plan to the west with a raised parapet with Irish-style crenellations. Pitched natural slate roof with raised limestone verges and cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast rendered walls to hall with limestone quoins to corners, tower constructed of rubble limestone with ashlar limestone detailing including quoins to corners, projecting string courses, and a cornice at parapet level. Pointed-arched window openings with timber Y-tracery to south elevation of nave, blank walls to north elevation of nave with only a square-headed window with a timber sash window and wrought-iron security bars to west end. Pointed segmental-headed doorcase to north face of tower with chamfered cut limestone surrounds and replacement timber double doors. Blind or infilled pointed-arch openings with cut stone surrounds and stone sills above to second stage of tower, pointed-arched openings above to belfry (third stage) with timber Y-tracery and timber louvered vents. Set back from the road in own grounds and surrounded by graveyard with mostly nineteenth century grave markers. Located on a low ridge a short distance to the northwest of the village of Horseleap. Church and graveyard occupy the site of a medieval abbey and is adjacent to a deserted medieval borough and a Motte and Bailey (east). The only extant evidence of the earlier abbey/church are the remains of a ruinous late medieval church, on rectangular plan, which is located to the east of the present church adjacent to the main entrance gates. A number of eighteenth century memorials to the interior of the present church were moved from this earlier church, including 'The Payton memorial', which commemorates George Payton who died in 1698.