Fossy Church (in Ruins), Grave Yd. — Fossy Lower

National Monument No. 114. A late sixteenth-century parish church (L c. 13.8m, Wth c. 7.7m), built of uncoursed rubble, with a slight base-batter. Broken-out doorway (Wth c. 1.4m) in W gable. Five windows visible in S wall and four in N wall. In both walls one window is much larger than the others. The window dressings had been removed prior to repairs by the OPW in 1945 (OPW file). The smaller windows are simple rectangular opes which are chamfered and have glazing-bar-holes and grooves. Four are placed very high above the ground level. Piscina in SE angle. An Early Christian cross-slab (LA019-016002-) was recently found in the graveyard (LA019-016001-) (pers. comm. D. Delaney). In pasture, situated in an upland area on the S facing slope of rising ground with good views in all directions. Present remains consist of a restored medieval parish church (ext. dims. 7.7m N-S; 13.9m; wall T 1m) built with uncoursed limestone rubble with dressed alternating quoin stones and a base batter visible on all four corners. The church is entered through a late medieval doorway in the centre of the W gable of which only two of the lower jambstones on the S side are intact. The church is lit by three windows in the N wall, one of which has been into the top of the wall located off centre to the W. The other two windows have different window sill heights suggesting they belong to different phases of the buildings history. The window at ground floor level (sill H 1m) located off centre to the W consists of a flat headed limestone window with dressed jambstones which suggest a late sixteenth or early seventeenth century date. This window is set into a square-shaped embrasure with segmental arch constructed with narrow radial voussoirs. Above this arch there are the traces of an earlier window embrasure arch. Directly above this window there is a similar late medieval window that has been inserted into the top of the wall (ext. H 3.5m), it is unclear if this window has been set back into its correct location after the OPW repairs of 1945. The other larger window (sill H 1.25m) which is set into a larger window embrasure is located off centre to the E is missing it stone surround but the window sill of this opening is at different height to the late medieval window. To the E of this window there is the lower half of a window set into the top of the wall near the NE angle of the church. The S wall contains two late medieval flat-headed windows with dressed limestone surrounds located off centre to the W one of which is at ground floor level and the other which is set at first floor level (ext. H 3.5m). A third larger destroyed window is located off centre to the E and appears to be an earlier window than the late medieval windows. To the E of this window there is a small flat headed late medieval window. There is a small flat headed niche or aumbry (H 0.7m x Wth 0.7m x D 0.45m) in the SE angle of the church. There is no evidence for any drainage hole within this aumbry to suggest that it may have been used as a piscina. Directly above this aumbry there is the lower half of a window that has been set into the top of the wall of the church. The E gable contains a destroyed window in the centre of the gable that is set into a large segmental arched embrasure with cut stone surround of which only the N springer survives. The two larger windows which are set into the N and S walls located off centre to the E appear to predate the later flat headed windows which are set into smaller square-shaoed embrasures. The presence of four windows set into the top of the walls at the E and W ends of the church may suggest the presence of a first floor inside the church, this floor may have been inserted when the church appears to have been re-fitted with new windows in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. These flat headed limestone windows display evidence of pocked dressing with blank margins and have iron grill holes but have no glazing grooves. There is no evidence for floor joists on the inner faces of the wall but these may have been filled up by the OPW repairs in 1945. The church is located inside an irregularly shaped graveyard (int. dims. 56m N-S; 34m E-W) defined by a stone wall with 18th and 19th century memorials to the W and S of the church. Described in the OS Letters in 1838 as 'The east gable contained a large pointed window, now nearly reduced to a breach. The north and south walls contained windows which are all reduced to breaches except one square window in each, which is of no interest. I should say that this was a little chapel built, or perhaps rebuilt or remodelled, about the year 1608. No Patron is remembered (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 87). Described by Daniel Byrne in 1856 as 'Fossy monastery, commonly called Fossy church, which latter is situate on the lands of Farna Frira. The ruins measure inside 36 feet (10.9m) by 18 (5.5m). The walls nearly three feet (0.9m) in thickness, and two storey high. It appears that an edifice stood about 21 feet (6.4m) from the west end of this monastery, which edifice measures inside 18 feet (5.5m) by 15 (4.6m). The walls of this ruins are nearly three feet in thickness (0.9m). Those ruins may have been the primeval religious establishment. The standing ruins have been repaired, and changes were made as to the doorways and windows. It is very probable that the ruins of this building, namely the latter and large edifice, were fitted up, and a church established there, according to the reformed mode of English worship. However, it is clearly evident that the edifice was originally a monastery, as, on the epistle side of the altar, over which was the chancel window, are the remains of a sedilia. How large the sedilia was, in the wall of the Fossy monastery, we cannot ascertain, as a part of the wall was destroyed, and afterwards rebuilt, in doing which the sedilia was closed up. The traces of an old road have been discovered, leading from Teigh-mogue, or Timogue, to this ancient establishment, making the distance between them not more than one mile.' (Byrne 1856, 41-2). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007