Grave Yard — Ballybrada

On a W-facing slope in gently rolling terrain, generally under pasture. A rectangular graveyard (diam. c. 26m N-S; c. 55m E-W) with a high stone wall surround, 2.3m H externally, surmounted by coping. The graveyard is populated by plain limestone headstones dating to the 19th and early 20th century, mainly 1860s-1880s, though there are some dating from the 1830s. There are at least thirty-five headstones visible, mainly aligned in rows running N-S, facing E. Family names include Fennel and Going. According to Power (1908, 21) this is a Quaker burial ground and the simple gravestones would bear this out. The graveyard was established in 1738 by local Quaker John Fennell on his own estate to provide for members of the Society of Friends (Butler 2006, 156). The graveyard is neglected and covered in brambles. The flat lintelled entrance to the graveyard, with its iron gate, is located close to the N end of the W wall. The inside edge of the graveyard is planted with trees and there is earth banked up against the inner face of the wall along the N and E walls. There are a small cluster of yew trees in the E half, towards the centre. There is no visible trace of a church (TS081-20----), the site of which is depicted on both the 1st (1840) and 2nd (1906) ed. OS 6-inch maps as being close to the W boundary of the graveyard. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 07 January 2014