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Monastery & cross carved slab is an uncertain ecclesiastical site located near Banbridge in County Down. The monument comprises the remains of what may have been a monastic settlement, evidenced by a carved stone slab bearing a cross. The site sits on bedrock of the Gala Group, a wacke formation laid down during the Telychian period of the Ordovician. This local geology would have been quarried for building stone in medieval times, making the locality a practical choice for ecclesiastical construction.
Early medieval monasteries in Ulster were typically small communities centred on a church and domestic buildings, often accompanied by carved stone crosses or slabs serving both spiritual and commemorative functions. The cross-carved slab at this location represents material evidence of monastic artistic practice during the early Christian period. Such slab stones, whether forming part of cross-shrines, grave markers, or liturgical furnishings, provide valuable insight into the religious life and craft traditions of early medieval communities.
The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities as a scheduled monument under reference 7700, reflecting its archaeological and historical significance. The uncertainty surrounding its exact character and chronology underlines the fragmentary nature of surviving evidence for early monastic sites in this region, where many such communities have left minimal archaeological remains above ground.
Monastery & cross carved slab is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7700. View the official record →
Monastery & cross carved slab is an uncertain ecclesiastical site located near Banbridge in County Down. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7700.
Monastery & cross carved slab 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.
Monastery & cross carved slab 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 7700.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Trivallate rath (5.6 km), Donaghmore cross. high cross, on early monastic site, & multiperiod church site with souterrain & enclosure (6.5 km), Toberdoney. church (site of); graveyard, enclosure & holy well (7.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Monastery & cross carved slab'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.
Monastery & cross carved slab stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.