St. Marys Church — Castletowndelvin

Complex and interesting multi-period church ruins with medieval tower at W end dedicated to St. Mary standing in NW quadrant of graveyard (WM014-003001-). The church ruins are located at the SW end of Delvin village with stone castle (WM014-002----) 55m to NNE and Anglo-Norman earth and timber motte castle (WM014-004----) 95m to ENE. Church was in ruins by early 17th century. Described in the terrier of the 1659 Down Survey map of Castletown parish as a ‘ruined church a small castle in repaire with diverse small cabbins, this was formerly a market town [Delvin] & the Earle of Westmeaths cheife seate’ (NLI, MS 723-4). The reference in the 1659 Down Survey to a 'small castle in repaire' may be a reference to the medieval tower at W end of church. Church ruins described in 1980 as ‘a rectangular church, now unroofed measuring 8.3m N-S by 32m E-W. Appears to be the nave of a medieval church. In the outer face of the east wall the sides of a large opening presumably the chancel arch 4.1m wide can be seen. East of the present east wall the grass covered wall footings of the medieval chancel can be roughly traced. This measures 11.7m E-W and seems to have been approx. the same width as the nave. The NW corner of the church has a gently tapering medieval tower. The top of which was rebuilt in the 19th c. Entry to the tower was by a door at the west end of the nave. This is now blocked up. The west end of the tower had a small round headed window of late 15th c. or 16th c. date, now blocked up. There are the remains of a two light window under a segmental hood seemingly of 16th c. date or early 17th c. date in the west wall of the church. There is a small stone head in the outer wall of the tower on the NE corner. The SW corner of the nave appears to be of a different date perhaps later than the remainder of the nave, the south wall here is set slightly out from the general line of the south wall. The church was rebuilt in the 19th c. with a 19th c. gothic doorway and windows and a small niche in the south wall and a 19th c. porch and transept on the north side. The whole was unroofed about 20 or 25 years ago’ (SMR File 20/10/1980). Described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as a ‘Freestanding former Church of Ireland church, rebuilt c.1810 incorporating fabric of later medieval church building (c.1550). Comprises two-stage fortified medieval belfry tower on square plan (c.1550), a Board of First fruits-type hall (c.1810) and a later nineteenth century transept (c.1860). Now a roofless ruin’. The building was described in 1837 as following: ‘The church is a plain building of ancient date, but in excellent repair’ (Lewis 1837, 310). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 1 February 2016