Church (in ruins) — Aderrig

Aderrig (Áth Deirg/Red Ford) Church and graveyard (DU017-028003-) stands on an artificial rise within the W quadrant of a levelled enclosure (DU017-028001-). The church stands 200m E of the W boundary of Aderrig parish which also forms the county boundary with Kildare. The parish boundary of Lucan represented by the townland boundary of Tobermaclugg lies 730m to the E. This medieval parish church is one of those confirmed to the Archbishop of Dublin after the Anglo-Norman Conquest and in the first half of the 13th century was granted to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Between 1212-28 there are references to the 'Ecclesia de Adderke' (Gilbert 1897, 137). In 1328, on the 12th of June, the Archbishop of Dublin being then abroad, Dean Rodyard , as Vicar-General, held an inquisition relative to the right of presentation to the church of Adderke (Mason 1820, 122). In 1533 the Reportorium Viride of John Alen, Archbishop of Dublin listed the 'Ecclesia de Adderke' or Church of Aderrig as a church belonging to the medieval Deanery of Taney (White 1941, 189). In 1546 an Inquisition of the estate of the collegiate and cathedral church of St Patrick's recorded that in; 'the town-lands of Adderge and Marshallrathe is one castle [DU017-112----], or mansion and lx [90] acres of arable land, xii acres of wood and pasture, ii messuages and one park called Roos-croft, worth, per annum, iiil. vis. viiid.. The tithes are payable out of the town-lands of Adderge, Backewexton, Ffeydanstan, Kelleston, Gallrowtheston, Callaghtowne and Leightowne, worth, per annum xviil. the ii messuages and park called Rooscroft, the alterages of the parish and iiil.. vis. viiid. of issues of said rectory, are assigned to the Curate for his stipend and repair of Chancel' (Mason 1820, 95). In 1547 a 21 year lease was granted by the Crown to Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown which included the; 'the rectory of Aderge, county Dublin, with Roes Croft and other appurtenances in Aderge, and the tithes, & co., extending to the towns of Aderge, Backweyston, Fydanston, Kellieston, Galrotheston, Kaillaghton, and Leighton; lands in Marshialrathe, Esker, Kysshoke, and Lucan; parcel of the possessions of the vicars-choral of the late cathedral of S. Patrick, Dublin. Also the rectory or prebend of Monmahennoke [Dunmanoge], county Kildare, with all tithes, &c., belonging thereto. To hold for twenty-one years, at a rent of £31, finding fit chaplains for the churches of Aderge and Monmahennoke' (Nicholls 1994, 98). Aderrig church (DU017-028002-), graveyard (DU017-028003-) and enclosure (DU017-028001-) was described in 1857 as follows; ‘we reach an ancient road called Alderg, or Aderrig lane, and, at a little distance, the thickly ivy-covered ruin of the very ancient church presents itself, standing in a field in which can be indistinctly traced the boundary [DU017-028001-] of the grave yard and there are few in the county that present such as forgotten and desolate appearance. As in many other instances that we have had to record, the ancient road-way has been appropriated by the owner of the adjoining land, and the graveyard will soon cease to contain any monument of those who In silent hope repose under the green sod. The church of Aderrig appears to have been on those small stone roofed buildings, erected in the latter end of the thirteenth century. It measures about 36 feet by 18, and from the inroads of cattle and the destruction of people, who, for the sake of the cut stone gumis and dressings, have nearly pulled the fabric to pieces, the only portion remaining that could mark the date is the lancet headed doorway shown in the view, Mr. monk Mason, in his History of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, mentions, “that early in the thirteenth century Archbishop Luke directed that five marks of the annual funds of this church should be allotted to light the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the residue distributed amongst the Vicars celebrating Mass there”. Soon afterwards this church was erected into a prebend, which, in 1306 was valued at 114 shillings, Adam de Stratton being then its prebendary. There are only two or three grave stones in the churchyard, which, as we said before, presents a desolate and neglected appearance. The Parish of Aderrig contains about 760 acres, and the rectory is inappropriate in the Vicars Choral of St. Patrick’ (Sloane 1857, 255-6). Poorly preserved ivy-clad single cell rectangular church (ext. dims. 12.9m NE-SW x 7.3m N-S; Wall T 0.8-0.9m) aligned NE-SW which was built with roughly coursed large limestone blocks with packing stones in the interstices with alternating long and short quoin stones. It has been suggested that the walls of the church represents two phases of construction (SMR Field Report Henry Wheeler 13/09/1977 and Michael Moore 26/06/1986). The first phase is represented by the use of large stones (dims. c. 0.5 x 0.7m) in the lower walls which in some places is capped by smaller masonry (dims. c. 0.4m x 0.15m) representing a second phase of construction. The large masonry is bonded with a white coloured mortar while the smaller masonry on the the higher sections of the wall are bonded with a cream-coloured mortar. There are two putlog holes visible in the N wall c. 1m from ground level and 2 putlog holes visible in the S wall. The putlog hole in the S wall close to the door runs through the wall at an angle and may have served some other function than a putlog. The church has opposed doorways at the W end of the N and S walls which may be later insertions. The better preserved S doorway (Wth 1m) has a pointed segmental arch now covered in ivy with a rebate and draw-bar hole visible. The poorly preserved N doorway no survives as a broken out opening and has a particular long drawbar hole in the E jamb. Interior is lit by a slit ope in W gable which may have been an insertion. The N side of a similar window in the E wall survives. The N wall stands to full height or to eaves level (c. 3m) along with the W part of the S wall. The ivy-clad W gable stands to full height. N side of E gable stands c. 2m high. Church ruins described by Ní Mharcaigh (1997, 263-264) as follows; 'Aderrig Church stands at the highest point of a circular raised burial ground, at one side of a larger elliptical raised feature. Aerial photography shows that the church lies within a larger enclosure. The west wall stands to gable height and the north wall to about 3m for its full length. The north corner of the east wall stands to about 2.5m and terminates in a jamb for a splayed window with a flat sill. The south corner of the east wall stands to less than 1m and the side is completely broken. An entrance in the south wall, 3.7m from the west gable, has a pointed arch edged by large plain stones. It is 1m wide and has a bolt hole on the west side. There is an opening 0.2m sq. in the south wall west of the entrance. In the north wall there is another entrance of the same dimensions directly opposite the south entrance with a bolt hole on the east side; the other side is broken and the top of the door is missing. A sill of flat stones in the north wall indicates a window but the upper part of the wall is missing. There are two putlog holes in this wall, 1m from ground level. Most of the south wall east of the door is missing except for foundations. There is no evidence for a division into nave and chancel. A slit window, splayed inside, is in the west gable'. Sloane, J. 1857 Antiquarian Rambles in the County of Dublin. Irish literary Gazette 1857, 265-66. See attached Black & White photographs taken 13/09/1977 by Henry A. Wheeler of the NMS; Black and White image taken by Thomas Mason of the intact south doorway and wall of the church taken from the book History of the County of Dublin, Part IV, by F. Elrington Ball (1906), courtesy of South Dublin Libraries, Local Studies Collection, https://hdl.handle.net/10599/1084. Compiled by: Geraldine St