© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Anglo-Norman Coffin Lids and Medieval Church Site at Down is a medieval ecclesiastical complex located in County Down, Northern Ireland. Two carved stone coffin lids, dating to the Anglo-Norman period, are preserved within the fabric of the present church at the centre of the site. These lids represent a significant phase in the development of Christian burial practice in medieval Ulster, when stone-built churches and formal cemeteries began to replace earlier burial grounds across the region. The site itself occupies ground underlain by Hawick Group wacke, a hard sedimentary bedrock typical of this part of Down, which would have determined the character of stone available for building and burial monuments.
The medieval church that once stood here has left visible traces in the landscape, although the exact extent and form of the original structure remain embedded in the site's topography and buried deposits. The survival of the two coffin lids indicates sustained high-status Christian burial practice at this location through the medieval period. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 8132, recognising its significance to the medieval ecclesiastical heritage of the region.
Anglo-norman coffin lids (2) (in c. of i. church) & site of medieval church is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8132. View the official record →
Anglo-Norman Coffin Lids and Medieval Church Site at Down is a medieval ecclesiastical complex located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8132.
Anglo-norman coffin lids (2) (in c. of i. church) & site of medieval church dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a ecclesiastical site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Anglo-norman coffin lids (2) (in c. of i. church) & site of medieval church is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 8132.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Motte (0.5 km), Raised rath (2.9 km), Raised rath (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Anglo-norman coffin lids (2) (in c. of i. church) & site of medieval church's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Anglo-norman coffin lids (2) (in c. of i. church) & site of medieval church stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.