Survey Data
Reg No
15321030
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Archaeological, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Graveyard/cemetery
In Use As
Graveyard/cemetery
Date
1170 - 1900
Coordinates
233191, 235199
Date Recorded
18/08/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Graveyard/cemetery on rectilinear plan, originally associated with an Cistercian Abbey (no surface remains) founded c.1170, now containing mostly nineteenth cut stone gravemarkers. Surrounded by rubble limestone wall with wrought-iron gates and modern graveyard (c.1910) to north. Located to the southwest of Kilbeggan town and accessed by lane bounded by rubble limestone walls to either side.
Appraisal
An attractive and prominently located graveyard, which has played a central role in the history of Kilbeggan. It was originally built as part of an important late-twelfth century Cistercian Monastery, which was located to the north-west of this graveyard. No surface remains survive of this monastery, which was apparently cleared by 1830. The present graveyard contains mostly mid-to-late nineteenth-century headstones, many of which are finely carved with cast-iron railings of some design distinction. The attractive and well-built boundary wall and wrought-iron gate help to emphasize this site in the landscape whilst the lane bounded by rubble limestone walls to either side creates an air of privacy and solitude on the approach to this graveyard. The north end of this lane was the site of a Church of Ireland church, built in 1768.