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Church at Ballymena is an uncertain ecclesiastical site located in County Antrim. The monument lies upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks, geological formations comprising mafic lavas and tuffs that date from approximately 66 to 23 million years ago. These volcanic bedrock deposits are characteristic of the extensive Tertiary volcanism that affected this region and form part of the distinctive geological landscape of north-eastern Ireland.
The site is situated within the townland of Ballymena and is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference number 2556. As an uncertain ecclesiastical site, it represents the archaeological evidence for early Christian or medieval religious activity in the area, though its precise character, chronology and extent remain to be definitively established through further investigation or archaeological assessment.
The monument contributes to the broader record of ecclesiastical settlement and religious continuity across the Ballymena region. Such sites frequently remain fragmentary in the archaeological record, with limited surface indicators, yet they provide valuable testimony to the long history of Christian worship and monastic or parochial organisation in Ulster. Its protection ensures that this element of the area's heritage is preserved for future study and understanding.
Church is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 2556. View the official record →
Church at Ballymena is an uncertain ecclesiastical site located in County Antrim. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 2556.
Church dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a ecclesiastical site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
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 2556.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Galgorm castle. c17th house & bawn (0.1 km), Mcquillan's castle. motte and bailey (0.5 km), Megalithic tomb (2.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of 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.
Church stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.