Tomb

Over the E window of the present Church of Ireland church on the site of the medieval parish church of Castletown Kilpatrick (ME012-016----) is a large fragment of a female effigy of late 15th-century date, and a fragment of a knight’s foot is in the graveyard may be from the same piece. From Hunt (1974, 1, 204): Effigy of a woman. Late 15th century Built into the wall at the east end of the church is a three-quarter length effigy of a woman. The lower portion has been broken away, but it is possible to see that she wore a long gown, the skirt falling in pleated folds and with medium full sleeves. The gown is cut low on the neck, the bodice having wide reveres which cover the shoulders, and the high neck of the kirtle can be seen above it. Her head lies upon a tasselled cushion, and she wears a turret head-dress of the Meath style upon her head. This has not got a brow-band, but seems to be an intermediate form between the Athboy type with broad brow-band and the very elaborate and exaggerated form shown at Killeen in the same county. The lady may have been part of a double effigy, as the foot of a knight shod in a sabaton and resting upon a dog is to be seen in a clump of trees near the west end of the church. The date of the effigy must be late fifteenth-century. See attached image: Date of upload: 22 May, 2014

Effigial tomb, late 15th century. The presence of a female effigy suggests it may be a memorial to a person of local prominence, reflecting medieval funerary traditions in the region.