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Nicholl's Ground is an early Christian graveyard and souterrain located in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. The site comprises burial remains and an underground stone-built chamber typical of Early Christian ecclesiastical settlements in Ulster. Such souterrains served practical functions within monastic communities, providing secure storage or refuge. The monument lies upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks—ancient mafic lavas and tuffs that form the bedrock geology of this part of County Londonderry, underlying the softer surface deposits in which the Early Christian features were constructed.
Nicholl's Ground represents an important focus of Christian settlement and practice from the Early Medieval period. The combination of graveyard and souterrain suggests a site of some monastic or religious significance, where both the burial of the deceased and the domestic or defensive needs of the community were accommodated within a single sacred landscape. The specific archaeological character of the site reflects the integration of spiritual and practical concerns that defined Early Christian communities across northern Ireland.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities as a scheduled historic monument under reference 11770, recognising its significance for understanding Early Christian settlement, burial practice and monastic life in the region.
Nicholl's ground. graveyard & souterrain is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11770. View the official record →
Nicholl's Ground is an early Christian graveyard and souterrain located in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11770.
Nicholl's ground. graveyard & souterrain dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a graveyard. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Nicholl's ground. graveyard & 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 11770.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cashel rock, cashel. large enclosure (4 km), Wedge tomb (7.1 km), King's fort, rings fort. rath (7.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Nicholl's ground. graveyard & 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.
Nicholl's ground. graveyard & souterrain stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.