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Ardagaualle is a medieval ecclesiastical site comprising a church and graveyard within an enclosure, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. The site occupies land underlain by Gala Group bedrock formed during the Telychian period, sedimentary wacke that characterises much of the local geology. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 7484.
The name Ardagaualle, recorded in various medieval forms including Machairyedargawall and Meacarne-de-odargulla, indicates an early Christian foundation associated with the Irish ecclesiastical tradition. Such enclosed churchyard sites typically originated in the medieval period and often succeeded earlier monastic establishments. The graveyard would have served the local Christian community, with burials continuing through the medieval and early modern periods.
The enclosure surrounding the church and graveyard is characteristic of medieval Irish ecclesiastical sites, providing a defined sacred boundary and administrative demarcation. The survival of both structural and burial evidence makes Ardagaualle an important record of religious life in medieval County Down, preserving information about settlement patterns, denominational continuity and burial practices across several centuries.
Ardagaualle, machairyedargawall, maccharedruall, meacarne-de-odargulla. medieval & modern church & graveyard with enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7484. View the official record →
Ardagaualle is a medieval ecclesiastical site comprising a church and graveyard within an enclosure, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7484.
Ardagaualle, machairyedargawall, maccharedruall, meacarne-de-odargulla. medieval & modern church & graveyard with enclosure 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.
Ardagaualle, machairyedargawall, maccharedruall, meacarne-de-odargulla. medieval & modern church & graveyard with enclosure 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 7484.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath (3.5 km), Raised rath (3.9 km), The temple, templemoyle. church & graveyard (4.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ardagaualle, machairyedargawall, maccharedruall, meacarne-de-odargulla. medieval & modern church & graveyard with enclosure'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.
Ardagaualle, machairyedargawall, maccharedruall, meacarne-de-odargulla. medieval & modern church & graveyard with enclosure stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.