Sheepstown Church is a medieval church and National Monument in County Kilkenny, Ireland.[1]
| Sheepstown Church | |
|---|---|
| Ballynageragh | |
Cill Bhaile na gCaorach | |
 | |
  Sheepstown Church | |
| 52°29′06″N 7°14′36″W / 52.4849°N 7.243442°W | |
| Location | Sheepstown, Knocktopher, County Kilkenny |
| Country | Ireland |
| Denomination | Church of Ireland |
| Previous denomination | Pre-Reformation Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Muicín |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | inactive |
| Heritage designation | |
| Official name | Sheepstown Church |
| Reference no. | 73 |
| Style | Hiberno-Romanesque |
| Years built | 12th–13th centuries |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Width | 6 m (20 ft) |
| Number of floors | 1 |
| Floor area | 62.5 m2 (673 sq ft) |
| Materials | sandstone |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Ossory |
Location
editSheepstown Church is located 1.8 km (1.1 mi) west of Knocktopher, immediately west of Junction 10 of the M9.[2]
History
editThe church at Sheepstown is dedicated to St Muicín, bishop and confessor (d. 630). The stone church was built during the 12th or 13th century, at a period when the Irish church was moving from a monastic to a diocesan setup.[3]
Church
editThe church is Hiberno-Romanesque and simple in design. The west doorway has simple bead moulding, as do the four corners of the gables. The door in the south may have led to the sacristy. High in the northwest corner is a corbel called the "clock-stone", perhaps the gnomon of a sundial.[4][5][6]
References
edit- ^ "The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-east of Ireland Archaeological Society". The Society. 1 January 1867 – via Google Books.
- ^ Hogan, John (1 January 1884). "Kilkenny; the Ancient City of Ossory, the Seat of Its Kings, the See of Its Bishops and the Site of Its Cathedral". P. M. Egan – via Google Books.
- ^ "Sheepstown Church".
- ^ "Sheepstown Church".
- ^ Past, Ed Hannon-Visions of the (13 August 2014). "Sheepstown Church, Kilkenny, Ireland".
- ^ "Sheepstown".