Church (in ruins) — Loughkent Lower

In gently undulating terrain surrounded to the N, E and S by pasture and by tillage across the road to the W. A tower house (TS069-063----) is visible 1.2km to the SSE. A large undivided church (ext. dims. 8m N–S; 23.24m E–W) of limestone rubble, roughly coursed located S of centre within an irregularly shaped graveyard (TS069-062001-). The church has been repaired and repointed. Where original quoins survive they are of cut limestone. The E gable (wall T 1.1m), which has a slight base-batter (H 3.3m; Wth 0.15m), survives up to a height of 4m, with a length of upstanding N (L 4m) and S wall (L 2.9m) running from the E gable. Only the lower courses of the remaining N wall (max. H 0.4m; wall T 0.9m) survive. The W gable survives up to a height of 2.78m. The W end of the S wall is 1.56m high for 3.9m and then only the lower courses survive to a height of 0.7m for a further 5.36m, to where there appears to have been a doorway. This doorway, E of centre in the S wall, is evidenced by a straight-sided terminal which appears original despite repair work. The E length of the wall beyond this does not survive. There is no evidence of a doorway in the N wall. From the surviving walls there is evidence of at least four windows. A flat-headed two-light window in the E gable, a flat-headed single-light widnow towards the E end of the N wall and one side of a splaying window embrasure towards the E end of the S wall and in the W gable. The E window has an external chamfer with a central band of punch tooling, a style which dates to the late 16th/early 17th century. The window or surrounding wall have been rebuilt as the external masonry bulges out below the window and the external N jambs are not flush with the external face. The wall above the window has been rebuilt and is supported on an iron grille while the S side of the internal embrasure has been rebuilt using a headstone dating to 1822, the latter repair work was noted by White (1892, 64). The ground level in the interior appears to be significantly raised. The flat lintel of a piscina is visble at the S side of the E gable, though only 0.1m of the opening is visible above the internal ground level. There is a flat-headed aumbry towards the E end of the N wall, the base of which is at present internal ground level. Architectural fragments in the NE corner of the interior iincluding two limestone jamb. Within the church there are a number of 18th, 19th and 20th-century headstones, the earliest dating to 1761. There are two possible bullaun stones (TS069-062002-; TS069-062003-) incorporated into the W wall of the graveyard. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 29 September 2011