2024:387 - Castlelost Church, Westmeath

A programme of archaeological monitoring was carried out at Castlelost Church and graveyard from September to November 2024 during conservation works funded by the Community Monument Fund.

Castlelost Church (WM033-031-) is a rectangular masonry building with a two-storey residential tower to the west. The church is mentioned in early fourteenth-century ecclesiastical documents, however the decorative motifs and mouldings associated with the church appear to be fifteenth century in date. Two ogee-headed single light windows pierce the south wall, with the original entrance to the church to their west. Another ogee-headed single light window pierced the north wall. The east gable was originally pierced by a central window. There are a number of decorative carvings at the top of the embrasure of the window. The church stands within a graveyard (WM033- 031001), with a number of architectural fragments from the church having been reused as grave markers to the south and southeast of the church.

A sixteenth-century altar tomb (WM033-031002) bearing the effigy of a knight in full armour dedicated to a member of the Tyrell family was previously recorded within the church. It was not located during a site inspection by National Monuments in 2013, nor during the recent works. Local knowledge suggests it was removed from the site a number of years ago.

The works carried out in 2024 focused on the central and eastern portions of the north and south walls of the church along with the eastern gable. The works included the removal of vegetation from the upstanding remains of the church along the north wall, the east gable and the south wall. This was followed by a programme of repair and consolidation of the walls. A number of bat boxes were installed as part of the works.

The initial site set-up works were monitored to ensure existing gravestones were protected and that burials were not encountered or disturbed during the erection of scaffolding. Some loose masonry was present within and around the church along with six spoil and rubble heaps, which were identified abutting the walls of the church. The sorting of the loose stone and the stone within the heaps was archaeologically monitored. One of the heaps consisted of fallen masonry associated with the north wall. Two internal piles related to previous clearance of loose masonry within the church interior. A spoil and rubble heap to the south was associated with the entrance, while one to the north may relate to the access to the western residential tower. The majority of these two heaps remain in situ. A final spoil heap abutting the external side of the eastern gable appears to be graveyard soil piled against the wall, possibly excess soil from grave cuts. Small fragments of disarticulated human bone were noted here and the spoil heap was left in situ.

A number of dressed stones and architectural fragments were identified during this phase of the works and have been retained. The original location of two of the architectural fragments was identified and they were reinstated during the works, both associated with the window in the north wall. Further masonry associated with this window was located and left in situ as they were reused as grave-markers. A survey of architectural fragments and other dressed stone that have been reused as grave-markers within the graveyard was also undertaken. During these works a broken fragment of a rotary quern stone was identified.

South entrance

Following the clearance of loose masonry and vegetation a number of additional details of the entrance to the church in the southern wall were revealed. Two dressed and chamfered stones were identified in the internal side of the doorway to the west while an additional dressed stone was identified at present ground level (PGL) on the internal side to the east. The opening for the doorway currently measures 1.25m in width, though the original external masonry is no longer in situ. The external masonry of the doorway is currently in use as the entrance to Meedin Church (WM033-040—). A drawbar slot was identified within the wall to the east of the doorway measuring 1.25m in length, 0.22m in width and a minimum of 0.14m in height. The wall above the slot does not survive. The slot was 0.28m above the PGL within the doorway and approximately 0.55m above the PGL on the external side of the church.

East gable

Both corners of the east gable were robbed out and needed to be reinstated as part of the works to stabilise the structure. A gap had opened between the internal south wall façade and the gable façade, which was filled with a number of small stones used as ties added to increase the strength of the connection between the walls. The upper section of the gable wall was significantly affected by the vegetation that was growing on the church until recent clearance. This was particularly notable to the north of the apex, with most of the upper stones insecure and loose in this section. The upper sections of the wall were stabilised and repointed where possible, with the northern end requiring some reduction of the façade to allow for clearing out of vegetation and loose debris before the stones were replaced in their original position and repointed. The lower sections of the wall were repointed, with additional consolidation required around the window. The window was previously embellished with external masonry with a double-light ogee-headed decoration, which has since been removed and is currently inserted into Meedin Church (WM033-040—).

North wall

A significant bulge in the façade of the northern wall associated with root and vegetation damage required partial deconstruction and subsequent reinstatement. A photographic record of the wall prior to the removal of the stones was completed, with the stones being appropriately numbered. Consolidation works and repointing was undertaken around the window and two fragments of masonry (one on the internal side and one at the head of the external side) were reinstated after they were identified during clearance of loose rubble and a graveyard inspection. These works were approved by the National Monuments Service following an amendment to the original method statement for the project. Works to the remainder of the wall consisted of repointing and consolidation of the existing masonry.

Western residential tower

No works were carried out on the western residential tower in 2024, however a number of observations were made. At present the relationship between the western tower and the church is unclear and will  need to be further assessed during later works. The barrel vault, which appears contemporary with the window to the south and the door to the east, appears to be a later improvement. A series of putlog holes are evident on either side of the ground floor chamber, just below the barrel vault, which relate to a previous floor level. The lower chamber appears to originally have been divided into two low spaces, presumably relating to storage rather than functional rooms, possibly originally accessed via a trap-door to the south in the part of the arch that has collapsed.

A small murder hole was noted directly above the door to the ground floor chamber. This connected to a hole in the wall of the upper floor. A drawbar is also present inside the doorway on the northern side indicating it could be secured from the interior.

It appears that there was an access to the upper floor of the tower from the northwest of the church, however this has been lost. Dressed stone on either side of the presumed access to the stairs are visible, however no evidence of the stairs themselves, or their interaction with the north wall of the church is currently visible. There is no indication of a garderobe for the upper floor either, which may also have been present in the north-east corner of the tower. Evidence for the stairway and possible garderobe may be revealed during the conservation works to the residential tower in the future.