Church in Townparks (upper Dundalk By.)

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Church of St. Nicholas (C. of I.), largely rebuilt in 1707 but containing some identifiable medieval remains, especially in the tower at the SW angle. It now consists of a chancel, nave, transepts and bell-tower. The arches in the S wall of the nave must be part of the original arcade dividing it from the S aisle which is no longer extant. The opposing arcade in the N wall is almost certainly a modern fake, built to match that of the S one. Dressed slabs, part of a pilaster and two sandstone pillars in the blocked S arcade are medieval. The old roof line of the S aisle can be discerned on the outside of the E wall of the tower, demonstrating that the latter structure is medieval and possibly part of the original building, though wicker centring in some of the window embrasues and the barrel vault over the ground floor may indicate a late medieval date. The top of the tower has been renewed and the spire is modern. There is a medieval piscina in the E wall of the S transept which indicates that the core of this part of the church may be of the same date. Amongst the chancel quoins are a number of medieval cut sandstone blocks, while elsewhere in the church other pieces of medieval stonework have been reused especially in the windows. Access to the bell-tower, which is rectangular in plan and three storeys high, is gained through a modern doorway at the E which leads to a spiral staircase incorporated in a projection at the SW angle. The tower is built of rough uncoursed greywacke and limestone blocks. Three quarters of the way up the W façade is a two-centred window with punch-dressed hard grey sandstone jambs and arch. In the S face of the tower at first floor level is a small rectangular window with a single-stone pointed arch of sandstone, and at the second-floor level there is a similar one. There is a larger, much altered window at the top of the belfry stage. The same layout of windows is repeated in the W wall but there is one less in the E and only a modern one in the N. In April 1986 the westernmost window of the S wall of the nave was taken out and replaced by a modern window, and during this work early medieval sandstone jambs and mullions were taken out and seen by the writer. These, however, can hardly have been in their original position since they were inserted in the blocking of the original arcading. The E window of the chancel in the present structure has a drip moulding terminating in two very badly weathered heads. It would appear that this building contains medieval stonework, has some of the basic early medieval fabric remaining, and that the bell-tower was a later medieval addition. (CLAJ 1941, 15-19; CLAJ 1944,311; Tempest 1952a, 32)