Ballymartle Church of Ireland
The Church
This is a freestanding Church of Ireland church, built 1866, comprising three-bay double-height nave with bellcote to west gable, canted double-height chancel over crypt to east and single-bay double-height porch to side west, added circa 1875.
A handsome church situated on a prominent elevated site, and set within an earlier graveyard which contains the ruins of a medieval church. Built in the latter part of the nineteenth century, it is notable for its canted chancel and entrance porch addition that enliven the simple barn-style nave, and which make for a plan and form which differs greatly from the more commonly found churches built in the first decades of the 18th century.
the most notable graves in the graveyard belong to the Mead family who lived in the nearby Ballymartle House. The Mead family played an important role in the church which is evident by the number of commemorative plaques and by the inscriptions in the stain glass windows which are found within. The excellent interior is of particularly interest, as it retains much fabric of artistic merit.
The Cache
The cache is a simple container of micro size. It's not placed in the church grounds itself but is found nearby. There is good parking very close to the cache itself. Very close to the cache is a gated trackway which leads to the ruins of Ballymartle House mentioned above.
The Series
The Church Micro IE series is open to everyone; if you have a church you would like to place a cache at then please contact THE_Chris through Geocaching.com. This is to keep track of the numbers of the churches and give you the general format for the cache page. In the UK there are thousands of caches in the series so we have some catching up to do! Also, if you currently have a published cache at a church that you would like to include in the series, get in contact and we can add it.
Church information taken from http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/
