Church (in ruins) — Parsonstown

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 Built of uncoursed rubble, greywacke and limestone, it has an undivided nave and chancel (max. dims. 10.35m by 4.5m) with opposing doorways in the W end of the N and S walls and one window in each of the four walls. The doorways have pointed two-centred arches of limestone which are punch-dressed and chamfered; both have bolt holes and stop-chamfers. The W gable has the remains of a double bellcote and an almost central single-light window constructed of punch-dressed limestone. There is a double-light ogee-headed window in the E end of the S wall and a single one in the N wall opposite. They are constructed of punch-dressed limestone, with glazing bar holes and grooves. There is a blocked ope in the centre of the S wall, indicated by a slightly rounded arch of greywacke, which must be the remains of another window. The E window is destroyed except for part of the sill. It had a double-light window of limestone and was almost certainly like the one in the S wall. At the E end of the S wall are the remains of a small two-tiered recess and inside the S doorway to the E side is another one, probably to hold a holy water stoup. There are vertical breaks in the N and S walls opposite each other just E of the doorways but they are too close to the W end of the church to be the remains of a wooden rood screen. This building is a well preserved example of a late medieval parish church, possibly built in 1528. (CLAJ 1944, 291)