Survey Data
Reg No
15402916
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Church/chapel
Date
1840 - 1880
Coordinates
209431, 242627
Date Recorded
10/10/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding three-bay Church of Ireland church, built c.1840 and altered c.1860, having a single-bay gable-fronted entrance porch to the west (dated 1876) and a polygonal chancel to the east. Possibly incorporating earlier fabric. Originally associated with Moydrum Castle (15402917), now out of use and a derelict shell. Originally had a pitched natural slate roof, now collapsed, with cut stone verges to either end (east and west) and a cut stone bellcote over the west gable. Constructed of rusticated limestone with cut limestone detailing. Pointed-arched openings having chamfered cut limestone surrounds, now mostly blocked up. Cut stone plaque to interior of porch reads 'built by contributions of Dean Handcock, Robert Handcock and other well disposed persons in 1740’. Set in heavily overgrown graveyard with collection of mainly nineteenth century grave markers, some having cast-iron railings. Located in an elevated site to the north of Moydrum Castle (15402917) in former demesne grounds.
Appraisal
An interesting small-scale Church of Ireland church associated with Moydrum Castle (15402917). This church is well-built using rusticated limestone and retains good quality cut stone detailing, which is of artistic merit. Its form is typical of the few mid-to-late nineteenth-century Church of Ireland churches built in Westmeath, having a bellcote rather than a bell tower. According to traditional sources, this church was built c.1860. However, it is indicated on the 1837 Ordnance Survey map of the area so the 1860 date may indicate a later remodelling. This church is not unlike the church at nearby Kilkenny West (15402319), which was rebuilt to designs by Joseph Welland in 1839. The interesting mid-eighteenth century cut stone plaque to the interior, associated with the Handcock Family of Moydrum House, may come from the earlier church building or may have been moved from another church after deconsecration, which was a common practice at the time. The surrounding graveyard, which has a number of finely carved stone grave markers and cast-iron railings, completes the setting of this appealing and prominently sited structure. It is likely that many of the graves here commemorate members of the Handcock Family of Moydrum Castle. It forms part of an interesting group of buildings associated with Moydrum Castle (15402917) and is an important element of the architectural heritage of the area.