Balrath-Bury / Bhaile na Rátha

INFORMATION

FontID: 02750BAL
Object Type: Baptismal Font1 (fragment)
Church/Chapel: [church ruins]
Church Location: Kells, County Meath, Ireland
Country Name: Republic of Ireland
Location: Meath / An Mhí, Leinster
Directions to Site: Balrath is located 2.5 miles SW of the town of Kells, about 25 miles NW of Dublin on the N3, just at the cross-roads with the R153 W to Navan. The wall of an ancient chapel and a cemetery remain here, on the grounds of the former estate, Balrath Bury.
Font Location in Church: Outside the ruined church
Century and Period: 12th - 16th century, Medieval
Church Notes: According to Dopping's Visitation (1682-5) the parish church of Bury, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, had been a ruin since 1641 and was not enclosed [https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2677084/balrath-demesne] [accessed 27 February 2025]
Font Notes:
Described in Roe (1968: 110) as a fragment of a medieval baptismal: font, "a small portion of an octagonal, flat-bottomed font [...] the sides are completely gone"; the fragment includes the drain in the centre of the basin.

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 53.704444, -6.923333
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 53° 42′ 16″ N, 6° 55′ 24″ W
UTM: 29U 637078 5952641

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, type unknown
Number of Pieces: [fragment]
Font Shape: octagonal (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal
Notes on Measurements: Roe (1968: 110): panel 24.3 cm wide by 25 cm high / Basin: diameter near bottom 39.5 cm)

REFERENCES

Roe, Helen M., Medieval Fonts of Meath, Longford, Ireland: Meath Archaeological and Historical Society, 1968