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Ballymartin church is a pre-Norman and medieval ecclesiastical site in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, situated on bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks that comprise mafic lava and tuff. The site comprises the remains of a church and graveyard, together with a well and souterrain, reflecting the early Christian settlement patterns typical of Ulster. The presence of a souterrain indicates occupation extending back into the early medieval period, when such underground stone-built chambers served defensive or storage functions on settlement sites.
The church itself belongs to the medieval phase of use, when the site was formally established as a place of Christian worship and burial. The association of well, church and graveyard exemplifies the self-sufficient character of early ecclesiastical communities in medieval Ireland, where access to fresh water was essential to monastic life. The site's geological setting on volcanic bedrock is characteristic of much of the Antrim plateau, though the specific mineral and structural properties of the extrusive rocks would have influenced construction techniques and the layout of the settlement.
Ballymartin church is designated and protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities as a scheduled monument (reference 3677).
Ballymartin church, old town. pre-norman? & medieval church & graveyard, with well & souterrain is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 3677. View the official record →
Ballymartin church is a pre-Norman and medieval ecclesiastical site in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, situated on bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks that comprise mafic lava and tuff. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 3677.
Ballymartin church, old town. pre-norman? & medieval church & graveyard, with well & souterrain dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a ecclesiastical site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Ballymartin church, old town. pre-norman? & medieval church & graveyard, with well & souterrain 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 3677.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath & souterrain (8.3 km), Raised rath or motte (8.6 km), Trivallate rath (8.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ballymartin church, old town. pre-norman? & medieval church & graveyard, with well & souterrain'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.
Ballymartin church, old town. pre-norman? & medieval church & graveyard, with well & souterrain stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.