Kilmore church yard(s), Church Road, Carnacally, Crossgar, Downpatrick, Co Down

Kilmore Church Yard

Small graveyard on the north side of Church Road, roughly a mile west of Crossgar, originally the site of Kilmore Church of Ireland parish church. The church was built in 1792, funded by local subscription, but appears never to have been fully completed; the 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoirs noted it was unfinished with a belfry still without a roof, and remarked that the building was "in a wretched condition". The church had a relatively short lifespan, being replaced in 1876 by a new church a short distance to the east. After this, the old building served as a church hall. In 1976 it was removed stone by stone from the site and faithfully reconstructed at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

The graveyard is surrounded by a low rubble wall with wrought iron entrance gates on the west side. The site of the former church is marked by a granite headstone. The graveyard contains many graves dating mainly from the 19th century, along with some modern ones dating from after 1976, which have encroached upon the former church site. Set against the east wall are three relatively large, plain gabled vaults dating from the early 1800s. These vaults have been altered over the years, with former doorways to two of them now blocked up. The oldest documented grave is that of Arthur Johnston of Rademan House, who died in 1814.

A short distance to the south of Church Road is an older graveyard, roughly circular in plan with a rubble-constructed boundary wall and small wrought iron gate to the east. This site originally held a medieval church, possibly in use since early Christian times. By 1622 the church was in ruins. Though later repaired, it was abandoned in the 1640s. The graveyard, like many others, continued to be used by all denominations well into the 20th century. The oldest legible headstone dates from 1715. Close to the centre of this older site is a large plain vault, probably dating from the early 19th century, with a curved roof.