Bovevagh Church (Ruins of), Bovevagh Road, Dungiven, Co Londonderry, BT47 4 NP

Bovevagh Church (Ruins of)

A well-preserved church ruin of pre- and post-Plantation periods, demonstrating the simple plan form of early churches. The building exemplifies interesting constructional detail, particularly around the south doorway and in the lower wall batter.

The ruin is constructed of random rubble stonework enclosing a simple rectangular space measuring 16.5 metres long by 6 metres wide, with its long axis oriented east to west. The ruinous walls stand approximately 2.7 metres high all round from the present gravel floor, with breaks in height at several points where the slopes of the gables are just distinguishable.

The entrance door is located on the south wall towards the west. It has a roughly semi-circular head externally and is segmented within. Towards the east end are the remains of a small window with splayed reveals. Between the door and windows are two breaks in the wall; it is difficult to determine whether these may have been window insertions of the post-Plantation period. The west gable shows the lower part of a wide window opening with splayed jambs and cill. The north wall may have had a window towards its east end, as there is a break with one side showing a splayed jamb. Half the east wall is collapsed, but a part splayed jamb remains indicating a former narrow east window probably dating from the pre-Plantation period. On this wall is a small square deepset recess towards the north-east corner and low down near the gravel floor, with a slightly larger shallow recess higher up.

Externally, the ruined walls display a pronounced batter from approximately 600 millimetres above floor level, extending from the south door, returning on the east gable and along the north wall. While the stonework is random rubble, many stones have a marked rectangular shape which in places gives an impression of coursing. At the south door, some of the jamb stones externally and internally are squared to the springing, with a bold rebate against which a heavy door frame may have been fixed. On each jamb are recesses to allow a wooden beam or bar to be inserted to secure the door.

On the north wall opposite the doorway is a recessed plaque, its former inscription no longer decipherable. Within the walls of the ruin are two grave slabs, one at the east end and the other at the west end. The western grave slab records that Edward Augustus Edwards, his wife and mother, who resided in the Straw house, were buried here or in the graveyard shortly after the abandonment of the church in 1823.

The ruins are set upon a small hill oak surrounded on all sides by a small graveyard with ground falling from west to east, near the confluence of the Bovevagh and Altahullion burns. On the north side of the graveyard, the ground is retained by a high stone wall where the hilloak drops precipitously to the Bovevagh burn. The approach to the church ruin is a narrow inclined laneway from the Bovevagh Road, rising steeply to a gateway with stone piers at the graveyard entrance. From there, a path winds to the south door in a series of broad steps cutting through the ground, with random rubble walls on either side. A wrought iron gate provides access to the graveyard.

The graveyard is full of headstones and grave slabs. At the south-west corner of the ruin and a little beyond it stands a stone-built tomb, approximately 2.7 metres by 1.5 metres, constructed of random rubble with squared stones at quoins and rising to 700 millimetres high with a stone pitched roof resting on stone fill within. The tomb contains a long cavity for the incumbent's remains about 600 to 700 millimetres high by 500 millimetres wide and roofed with flat stones, much of which is now ruinous with only a few flat stone roofing slabs remaining. The graveyard boundary has a straggly hedge and trees.

This is an Early Christian and medieval site said to have been founded in 557 by Saint Columcille with Saint Adamnan as patron, though local tradition associates Saint Ringan and Saint Aidan son of Fintan with the site. A wooden oratory was buried down circa 1100. There is no trace of an Early Christian monastery. The foundation of the present ruins is uncertain but may date from the 12th century. Erenaghs are recorded until the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1600, Bovevagh Church of Saint Eugene had a rector, Bernard McConnolly, and erenagh John McConnolly. In 1622 the church is described as ruinous and unrepaired. In 1768 it is described as in pretty good repair; however, by 1806 it was in ruin and by 1820 it was no longer useful, with a new church to be built immediately.

At the south-west corner of the church and outside its walls is a tomb believed to hold the remains of the founder or patron saint. Its stonework is similar to that of the church. A round aperture at the east end appears to have been intended to give a view of the remains of the saint; at present there is a larger aperture at the west end where stones have been removed.

A First Historic Buildings Survey of 1 September 1970 describes the building as having walls built of mostly sandstone boulders, with a door and a window opening remaining in fair state of preservation. An armorial stone in the body of the church is dated 1726 and is in memory of Richard Nicol, rector of the church. A font is referred to in historical sources but could not be identified during survey.

The church ruin and site is a Historic Monument in State Care (Monument reference LDY 24:11).