Ardtole Church Ruins

Ardglass, United Kingdom

Ardtole was formerly the Parish Church of Ardglass and is dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The structure is of a characteristic Anglo-Irish parish church of the Middle Ages. The long narrow church seems largely of 15th century date, with a huge east window and opposed north and south doors, one with a draw-bar hole. In 1791 a cross-decorated slab of the Early Christian period was found, showing that perhaps the site has a longer tradition than the surviving remains would suggest. A souterrain was also found south of the church. The early cross slab, now built into the Roman Catholic church at Chapeltown, and the souterrain, suggest Early Christian activity on the hilltop.

The Church sat halfway between the Anglo-Norman settlers and traders of Ardglass and the native Irish of the surrounding area, but was used by both sets of people until the 15th or 16th century. According to tradition some people from Ardglass found the chieftain of the MacCartans in a drunken sleep and fastened his hair to some briars. He avenged this affront with a massacre of the townsmen gathered together for mass in Ardtole Church. This disaster led to the abandonment of the building as a place of worship for Ardglass, probably in the 16th century.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Religious sites in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

xxs 669 (7 years ago)
fireinabottle (7 years ago)
gary conway (7 years ago)
Just outside Ardglass on the strangford road, there's a lay-by on the left right across from the entrance to the pathway up the hill to ardtole church, where you can park, stunning views all round and on a clear day the Isle of man can easily be seen, well worth a visit,
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.