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Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone is a burial ground of uncertain ecclesiastical origin located at Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland. The site is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 7958. The graveyard contains a pillar stone inscribed with a cross, a form of memorial common to early Christian burial sites across Ireland and Britain from the Early Medieval period onwards. Such monuments frequently mark the locations of monastic communities or early parish churches, though the precise foundation date and ecclesiastical status of this site remain undetermined.
The monument lies upon bedrock formed from a felsic igneous intrusion of Late Silurian to Early Devonian age, created during the Early Devonian period when significant magmatic activity affected the region. This geological foundation is characteristic of the varied mineral landscape that underlies much of County Down, shaped by ancient tectonic processes.
The cross-inscribed stone represents an important record of Christian burial practice and landscape use in the Banbridge area. Such monuments serve as valuable markers of historic settlement patterns and religious observance, contributing to the wider archaeological understanding of early Christian communities across Northern Ireland.
Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7958. View the official record →
Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone is a burial ground of uncertain ecclesiastical origin located at Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7958.
Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone 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.
Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone 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 7958.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Big fort. rath & souterrain (4.8 km), Cashel & souterrain (5 km), Standing stone (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone'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.
Graveyard with cross-inscribed pillar stone stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Late Silurian To Early Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is felsic-rock.