Church in ruins — Dromin

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 On high ground in undulating countryside c. 150m ESE of motte (LH018-013001-), built of roughly coursed limestone and greywacke slabs covered with ivy. Divided nave and chancel with chancel arch which is now blocked. S wall of nave (int. dims. c. 10.05m by 5.38m) is buttressed, W wall totally destroyed, and N wall partially destroyed. Chancel has an E window and two in S wall with an original doorway in N wall. E window has the remains of moulded sandstone jambs in the upper portion and roughly cut sandstone jambs in its embrasure. Judging by its width it had at least two lights. Window at E end of S wall had its moulded stone removed and all that remains is a wide embrasure. Window at W end had a cusped ogee-headed arch constructed with two punch-dressed limestone blocks. The jambs, also of punch-dressed limestone, contain glazing bar holes and grooves. This type of cusped ogee-headed window is commonly found in buildings of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century date. The doorway, which is in N wall of church, is constructed with chamfered plain sandstone and has a pointed two-centred arch; it is also late medieval in date. There are the remains of two windows in S wall of nave. That at E end has the remains of moulded sandstone jambs and small two-centred arch, now collapsed and lying on the ground nearby. The jambs have glazing bar holes and grooves; the stones show clear evidence of diagonal tooling, pointing to a thirteenth-century date for this window. There is a corbel at each side of W face of chancel arch c. 2m above the present ground level. That at S side is a moulded and decorated piece of sandstone. The moulded sandstone jambs of some of the windows and the doorway would suggest a late twelfth- or early thirteenth-century date for the church but other features, such as the cusped ogee-headed window, the N doorway and form of chancel arch, indicate a late medieval date. The church contains the remains of a plain octagonal-shaped sandstone font with chamfered under-panels. Bowl has flat bottom with central drain hole. (CLAJ 1943, 204-5)