Ardtole Church
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Ardtole Church (Ulster Scots: Ardtole Kirk)[1] is a 15th-century ruined church standing on a hilltop overlooking the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man, 0.75 miles (1.2 km) north-east of the town of Ardglass in County Down, Northern Ireland, at grid ref: J564382.[2] It was formerly the parish church of Ardglass and is dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors.[3][4][2][5]
History
[edit]This location was probably a pre-Christian sacred site.[6] The present ruins date to the 15th century, it has been in ruins since at least 1657 when it was described as "only old walls".[7] The church and graveyard are set in a very prominent position at the North end of a ridge. The graveyard is a substantial earthwork, now rectangular in plan, 52m E-W x 42m N-S. The East gable of the church stands to the original height, while the West gable is reduced to foundations. A cross slab of Early Christian type from the site is now built into the gable of the porch of the Catholic church in Chapeltown nearby [8]
The site also contains a stone-built souterrain.[9]
Architecture
[edit]Ardtole Church is a roofless medieval church located northeast of Ardglass in County Down, Northern Ireland. According to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the church measures approximately 19 metres by 7 metres. It is constructed of local stone with thick walls and contains architectural elements such as lancet window remnants and a pointed-arch east window, consistent with late medieval Gothic design.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Jordan's Castle". Department for Communities, Northern Ireland. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ a b Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (1983). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-0-337-08180-4.
- ^ Donnelly, JP; Donnelly, MM (1980). Downpatrick and Lecale. A Short Historical Guide. p. 54.
- ^ O'Neill, Brendan (2002). Irish Cathedrals, Churches and Abbeys. London: Caxton Editions. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-84067-416-3.
- ^ Harbinson, P (1992). Guide to National and Historic Monuments of Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-7171-1956-1.
- ^ Meehan, Cary (2004). Sacred Ireland. Somerset: Gothic Image Publications. p. 215. ISBN 0 906362 43 1.
- ^ Roulston, William (2019). "Church of Ireland Places of Worship in Lecale in the seventeenth century". Lecale Review. 17.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record". NISMR.
- ^ NISMR database - SMR Number DOW 045:018 - Souterrain, Ardglass
- ^ "Ardtole Church". Department for Communities, Northern Ireland. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
