Bordwell Church (in Ruins) — Bordwell Big

An Early Christian foundation was established here (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 58). In the thirteenth century the church was granted to the Augustinians of St Thomas's Abbey, Dublin by Thomas de Hereford (ibid.). In 1345 the Irish of the Slieve Bloom burned the church (Dowling 1981, 15). Situated in a low-lying area. An early medieval nave (ext. dims. 17.6m E-W, 8.6m N-S; wall T 0.85m) and chancel (ext. dims. c. 8.5m E-W, c. 6.1m N-S; wall T c. 0.85m) constructed of roughly coursed limestone with a pointed arch doorway in W end of S wall and a round arch doorway opposite in N wall of chancel. Remains of single-light window in N and S wall of nave located off centre to E. Drawbar slot in E jamb of doorway located off centre to W in S wall. Evidence of four joist holes (dims. 0.3m x 0.3m) at the W end of the N and S walls which supported a floor or gallery at the W end of the nave. This floor level may be the remains of a two storey priest residence at the W end of the nave. Only the wall footings of the chancel survive, and are covered with collpased rubble which is piled all over the collpased walls of the chancel. The chancel arch dividing wall has collpased and there is a large eighteenth century table-top tomb inside the church at this location. All visible headstones postdate 1700. A short stretch of a bank and fosse at W, and a shallow fosse (Wth c. 10m, D c. 0.3m) from NW-NE, outside the graveyard (LA028-034002-) wall, indicate the line of an early enclosure (LA028-034003-) around the site. A recent graveyard clean up scheme has resulted in the stripping of ivy off the church and possibly the collapse of the walls of the chancel. All rubble stone from the chancel walls and any stone from the enclosing graveyard have been stockpiled inside the nave and chancel church. The interior surface of the church is covered with this rubble limestone which is strewn all over the church interior. Area around church and graveyard and ecclesiastical enclosure was investigated by Dominic Delaney in the year 2000 under excavation licence no. 00E0159. Monitoring of topsoil removal was carried out at the site of a proposed dwelling on 2 May 2000. The site (c. 1.3 acres) is located 150m east of an ecclesiastical site comprising a church, a graveyard and a portion of an ecclesiastical enclosure. The dark brown, silty clay topsoil, 0.25m thick, overlay dark yellowish-brown, sandy clay subsoil. Finds from the topsoil comprised four post-medieval and four modern pottery sherds. No archaeological features or deposits were discovered. 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