Castle and Church — Whitechurch

In the NW corner of a graveyard (KD014-022005-). A moated site, 'Puddlehall Moat' (KD014-021----), lies c. 500m to the NE. According to the OSL (Herity 2002, 46 (142)), 'Nearly in the centre of Whitechurch townland stands Whitechurch Parochial old Church in ruins. It is said a Castle formerly stood attached to this Church, from which circumstance the highest portion of the ruin, is called "Whitechurch Castle".' The 'castle' is a later tower attached to the W end of the church and is only accessible from the church. The church, a heavily ivy-clad, rectangular structure (int dims. L 14.8m E-W; Wth 5.75m), is built of rough, irregularly coursed limestone blocks (av. wall T 0.9m) and has a four-storied, rectangular tower (int. dims. L 4.45m N-S; Wth 3.45m E-W) at W which is only intermittently bonded to the N and S walls of the church. A small stairs turret (ext. dims. L 2.35m E-W; Wth 0.75m N-S) projects S from the SW angle of the tower, but only survives, unlit, to second-floor level, and carries a spiral stairs (diam. 1.55m). Stones projecting from the inner face of the S wall of the church suggest it was once sub-divided into a W nave (L c. 8.9m) and E chancel (L c. 5.88m). The S, E and N walls survive to full height (the W gable being formed by the tower), but portion (L 4.8m) of the W end of the S wall, which would have contained the doorway, is missing, and the W-third of the N wall is thinner (T 0.5m) and appears rebuilt. It was lit by a now partially robbed-out, low, narrow, twin-light, flat-arched window (Wth 0.83m; H 1.32m) in the E gable wall, by an almost opposed pair of partially robbed-out slits (Wth 0.10m; H 0.7m) towards the E ends of the N and S walls (15th century modifications, according to O'Neill (2004-5, 417), and by a slightly larger, plain rectangular window (Wth 0.5m; H 1.05m) towards the W end of the N wall. Access to the tower's ground floor (int. dims. L 4.45m N-S; Wth 3.45m N-S) is through a plain, flat-headed, partially blocked doorway (Wth 0.92m) at the S end of its E wall (wall T 1.3m). Neither ground or first-floor is lit. First-floor level is indicated by opposing corbels in the E and W walls and beam-slot holes in the N and S walls, while second-floor level has a vaulted ceiling orientated E-W. The stairs are accessed through a plain doorway at the W end of the S wall (Wth 0.9m; H 1.6m). At second and third-floor level, only the N wall and the N-half of the W wall survive. At second-floor level, the N wall is pierced by a double-splayed loop and a robbed-out window embrasure to E and W of centre. Corbel stones and a beam-slot hole indicate third-floor level where a loop survives in the W wall, immediately N of which, two rows of small, rectangular, recesses may be have been nesting-boxes for doves/pigeons. A fine, late-15th century, twin-light, ogival window (KD014-023001-) and an equally fine, single-light, ogival window (KD014-023002-), both now incorporated into the fabric of the 18thC 'Turnings House', c. 1000m to the W may have come from this church. (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 160) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011