County: Meath Site name: St Johns graveyard, Kells
Sites and Monuments Record No.: ME017-044035 Licence number: E005304; C1026
Author: Niall Roycroft
Site type: Conservation works on boundary wall
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 674400m, N 775838m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.726890, -6.872575
Meath County Council continued repair works on the eastern, masonry boundary wall to St John’s Graveyard, RMP: ME017-044035, Townparks, Kells in November-December 2023. The Graveyard (there is no church or church ruin) is also listed as a Protected Structure, KT017-053 and NIAH 14313003. St John’s Graveyard lies within the Kells Headfort Place Architectural Conservation Area and is in close proximity to several quality-built public buildings. The works were monitored as per National Monuments Service sub-number extension of 12 July 2023.
The 2023 works consisted of:
• Removal and treatment of a tree growing from the graveyard wall.
• Reconstruction of two broken sections of wall totalling approx. 6m.
• Removal of a 2m area of modern cement render and repairing beneath.
• Dismantling the wall in eight locations to allow modern fencing posts to be inserted into the wall. These posts are to support masking panels to large, ruined adjacent sheds attached to the eastern graveyard wall.
• Repointing the whole wall area of approx. 25m long x 1.1m high.
• Adding new lime-render flaunching to the whole wall top to allow for drainage (usually cascading from adjacent shed structures).
Removed stones were inspected to see if they had been worked, e.g. came from any medieval church or graveyard, but none were found. All removed stones were reused in the rebuilt sections. No archaeological finds or remains were noted.
‘Before’ 2023 Polycam scan:
https://poly.cam/capture/402039D9-2D83-487B-B605-92168C3EEC31
‘After’ 2023 Polycam scan:
https://poly.cam/capture/19ACE1B3-04F7-47A3-8741-2031A990CC3F
C/o Meath County Council
