Ballylarkin Church
Ballylarkin Church, also called Ballylarkin Abbey, is a medieval church and National Monument in County Kilkenny, Ireland.[1][2]
| Ballylarkin Church | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballylarkin Abbey | |||||||||
Cill Bhaile Uí Lorcáin | |||||||||
  Ballylarkin Church | |||||||||
| 52.722866°N 7.427629°W | |||||||||
| Location | Ballylarkin Upper, Freshford, County Kilkenny | ||||||||
| Country | Ireland | ||||||||
| Denomination | Church of Ireland | ||||||||
| Previous denomination | Pre-Reformation Catholic | ||||||||
| Architecture | |||||||||
| Functional status | inactive | ||||||||
| Style | Late Gothic | ||||||||
| Years built | 1350 | ||||||||
| Specifications | |||||||||
| Length | 7.9 m (26 ft) | ||||||||
| Width | 5.8 m (19 ft) | ||||||||
| Number of floors | 1 | ||||||||
| Materials | stone | ||||||||
| Administration | |||||||||
| Diocese | Ossory | ||||||||
| |||||||||
History
The region was controlled by the Ó Lorcáin until they were ousted by the Anglo-Norman Shorthalls (Schortal) in 1326. James Schortal and his wife Catherine White built the church, a small single-room structure, at Ballylarkin in 1350.[4]
A triple sedilia was later inserted into the south wall in the 14th century. A sheela-na-gig was originally at Ballylarkin but has been moved to the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology.[5][6] [7]
Church
The church was fortified with a chemin de ronde and a small north entrance. It has a Gothic cut stone window.[8][9]
There is a triple sedilia in the south wall. Along the top of the north and south walls is a series of corbel-stones with tracery. Beside the sedilia is a piscina with quatrefoil basin. There is an ambry beside the east window.[10] [11]
References
- Mease, James (1860). "Sheelanagig from the old church of Ballylarkin, Co..." The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society. National Library of Ireland. 3 (1): 7. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- "Old Kilkenny Review". 1 January 1963 – via Google Books.
- "Ballylarkin Church, Co. Kilkenny". 4 June 2014.
- Raftery, Joseph (1 January 1998). Irish antiquities: essays in memory of Joseph Raftery. Wordwell. ISBN 9781869857257 – via Google Books.
- "Travelmania Ireland - Ballylarkin Abbey / Church, Freshford, County Kilkenny".
- "Ballylarkin Abbey Freshford - Ballylarkin Church - Attractions - Museums and Attractions - All Ireland - Republic of Ireland - Kilkenny - Freshford - Discover Ireland".
- "Ballylarkin Church, Kilkenny".
- "Ireland In Ruins: Ballylarkin Abbey Co Kilkenny".
- Surman, Richard (1 January 2008). Secret Churches. Collins. ISBN 9780007251858 – via Google Books.
- "Ballylarkin Church".
- Weir, Anthony. "Ballylarkin Church".