Ecclesiastical enclosure in Castletimon

Situated on a gentle S-facing slope overlooking the valley of the Potters River to the S. While the site is level at the NW it drops markedly to the E and more gently to the S. A nave and chancel church built of roughly coursed rubble. The S side of the nave (dims. 15.4m E-W; 6.85m N-S) is poorly preserved with only a small stretch surviving at the W end. The N wall survives to near full height (H 2.9-3.1m; T 0.85m) with a single break (Wth 2m; H 2m) which may have been the location of a window or door. The W gable also survives to its original height (H 5m) with an opening towards the S end. This has a protruding door portal which may be an original, if unusual, feature. Of the chancel (dims. 4.5m E-W; c. 4.45m N-S) only the N side survives (H 2m). A modern wall divides the nave from the chancel but the two parts appear to be contemporary. There is a granite bullaun stone with an oval basin outside the SW angle of the church. A cylindrical granite font from this site has been removed to the graveyard of St Mary's church at Barndarrig (Ballinacor West townland). The church is situated within a graveyard (dims. c. 60m) which is bounded at the W by the public road and elsewhere by an earth and stone bank (Wth 3m at the NE) which represents the original enclosure. A narrow drainage ditch occurs inside the bank at the N and S while part of the bank at the E has been replaced by a possibly nineteenth-century mortared stone wall (H 1.3m). Outside this is a wide flat-bottomed natural gully (min. Wth 4m). There are two graveslabs dated to 1723 within the church and a substantial number of eighteenth-century headstones in the graveyard. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 13 September 2013