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Killowen is a medieval church and graveyard situated in County Down, Northern Ireland. The ruined church structure survives as a testament to the ecclesiastical use of this site during the medieval period. Two cross-carved stones are preserved within the graveyard, characteristic examples of early Christian material culture that would have marked significant burials or served devotional purposes within the sacred enclosure. These carved stones suggest the site's continuity as a place of Christian worship and burial through successive medieval centuries.
The monument lies upon bedrock of the Gala Group, a wacke formation dating to the Telychian period. This geology has shaped both the landscape and the practical challenges faced by those who established and maintained the church and its associated burial ground. The site remains substantially as it survives today, with the ruined walls and grave markers forming an archaeological record of religious life in medieval Down.
Killowen is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 7261, ensuring the preservation of its physical remains and their archaeological context for future study and public appreciation.
Killowen. killowen medieval church (ruined) & graveyard, with 2 cross-carved stones is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7261. View the official record →
Killowen is a medieval church and graveyard situated in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7261.
Killowen. killowen medieval church (ruined) & graveyard, with 2 cross-carved stones 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.
Killowen. killowen medieval church (ruined) & graveyard, with 2 cross-carved stones 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 7261.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Saul abbey. abbey, graveyard, mortuary houses, coffin lid etc. (7 km), Loughmoney dolmen. portal tomb (7 km), The long stone. standing stone (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Killowen. killowen medieval church (ruined) & graveyard, with 2 cross-carved stones'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.
Killowen. killowen medieval church (ruined) & graveyard, with 2 cross-carved stones stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.