Church (in Ruins) — Shanrahan

On a low hillock in generally flat terrain on the River Tar valley floor, at the foot of the Knockmealdown mountains. A possible hall-house (TS087-022001-) is situated c. 50m to the S. The nave (dims. 8m N-S; 12m E-W) and chancel (dims. 5.85m N-S; 6.1m E-W) church, with bell-tower (L 3.4m x W 4.15m) projecting from the W wall of the nave, is constructed on sandstone rubble, roughly coursed, with both the interior and exterior rendered. The nave has a base-batter (H 0.9m; W 0.13m), but the N wall has largely collapsed. There are two possible window openings in the S wall (H 3m; T 0.65-7m) but the surrounds have been broken out. A very high chancel arch (H 3.25m) consists of roughly cut, thin, sandstone voussoirs. The chancel is narrower than the nave and has no base-batter. The E window is set in a large, round-headed, straight-sided embrasure, and the window head has a brick surround. There are a number of graves in the church interior, which is quite overgrown. The bell-tower is accessed from the exterior through a blocked-up doorway in the N wall and from the church via a blocked-up doorway in the W wall of the nave. It originally stood three storeys high but a fourth storey was added in the 18th or early 19th century. It has a large pointed opening in the W wall at first-floor level. At second-floor level there were round-headed openings on the N, E and W faces, all of which have been blocked up, but any features on the S face are not visible as the wall was slate-hung. There are two sheela-na-gigs incorporated into the church, one (TS087-022003-) in the W face of the bell-tower and the other (TS087-022004-) in the E gable of the church. The church appears to be 17th or 18th-century in date. According to Butler (2006, 189-90, 217) the medieval church was replaced or hugely remodelled to faciliate Protestant worship in c. 1720 and the tower was added in 1793-4. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011