Peakaun Church (in ruins) — Toureen

In flat terrain at the base of a steep E-facing slope, with Peakaun Stream located 36m to E and St Peakaun's well (TS075-23005) on the other side of the stream to the S. The church is within an ecclesiastical enclosure (TS075-023007-). This small Romanesque church was taken into State care in 1935, reconstructed in 1944 by the Office of Public Works and partially excavated by Duignan as part of these works (Waddell and Holland 1990; Manning 1991). Window fragments, a sun-dial (TS075092376-) and many cross-inscribed slabs (TS075-023010- to TS075-023044-) were uncovered and inserted into the fabric of the church. The church is constructed with sandstone cyclopean masonry and has well-cut quoins, a plinth at the base of the W gable and SW angle (Wth 0.18m; H 0.12m), and a door (Wth base 0.77m; top 0.75m) in the centre of the W gable. There is a reference to a lintelled doorway but no evidence of this survives. A curving arch stone has been placed on top of the highest jamb of the doorway. A slightly raised plinth denotes the altar area and there is a re-constructed stone altar (H 0.56m) up against the interior of the E gable. A crude stone and concrete cattle barrier has been inserted up against the S jamb of the doorway. In the outer face of the W gable, immediately S of a vertical door jamb, a crude stoup (Wth 0.26m; H 0.16m; D 0.28m; bowl Wth 0.13m; D 0.085m) has been inserted, with a void in the masonry immediately above it. The E gable wall (H 4m at apex) is wider at its base, and internally there is a ledge, 0.64m above ground, above which many of the cross-inscribed stones have been inserted in the wall across its length. The N wall (ext. H 3.3m) leans internally. There is a lot of repair and restoration evident in the church walls. The E window has been reconstructed from fragments uncovered in the 1944 excavation. This tall, narrow window has a semi-circular head and had a pointed surround, the apex of which has been inserted over the reconstructed window in the S wall (Waddell and Holland 1990, 169). The latter is decorated with low-relief chevrons and designs in the spandrels (Leask 1955, 106-7). The window inserted in the S wall is surrounded by a decorated architrave and pediment bearing foliate ornament and a figure-of-eight interlace of serpentiform motifs in low relief (Waddell and Holland 1990, 169). Two fragments with chevron ornament may come from a second S window, while two other fragments bearing interlaced ornament have been incorporated in the reconstructed S window (ibid.). In 2007 the interior of the church was excavated by Ó Carragáin (2010, 499) who found that the earliest burials were oriented ENE-WSW, which differs significantly from the orientation of the extant church and suggests they were aligned on an earlier church. One of the burials contained a broken early medieval inscribed slab and other fragments of inscribed slabs were found ex situ (ibid.). Also uncoverered were some structural features (post-holes, stake-holes, etc.) which 'probably represent very fragmentary remains of two or three pre-Romanesque buildings – probably churches – but insufficient survives to determine their size or plan. Other small post-holes may have been for partitions subdividing the Romanesque church' (ibid.). The graves of 26 adults and sub-adults on the same orientation as the church were identified (ibid.). When the church was no longer in use it appears to have become a burial place for unbaptised children (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 24 March 2014 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 40/1935).