The Monks Ho. — Priorstate

National Monument, situated immediately to the NW of Louth Abbey (LH011-115005-).The building consists of a single-celled church or oratory with a chamber or croft in the roof and is constructed of greywacke and limestone blocks or slabs well bonded with mortar (ext. dims. 6.25m by 5.11m; int. dims. 4.88m by 2.82m). It has a barrel vault, constructed of small thin slabs, over the ground floor and above this is the croft which is built in the pitch of the roof. Access to the croft is gained by a steep and narrow stone stairwell in the NE angle. The roof is constructed differently from other early churches, such as St Kevin's in Glendalough or St Columb's in Kells, which are corbelled whereas St Mochta's has a pointed vault. No dressed stone fragments survive from the window or doorway which might help in the dating of this building but the method of construction of the roof points to a period later than that of St Kevin's and St Columb's, perhaps as late as the twelfth century. The building has been extensively restored by the Office of Public Works. (See LH011-115004-). (CLAJ 1937, 32-5; Leask 1977b, vol. 1, 40) This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 5/1932) and is also a National Monument, in state guardianship: No. 312. See the attached views: _1 from W; _2 from SW The above 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: 17 July 2007