Th old church at Faithlegg is the remains of a 13th century ecclesiastical site situated adjacent to the 19th century Catholic Church. There is a fine 13th century pointed doorway of Dundry stone (a type of limestone) in the west gable with a double bellcote above. It is believed that the doorway in the north nave wall, the five-elliptical headed windows, and a window at the loft level in the west gable are later 16th century insertions. The Down Survey of the 1650s stated that the church was “out of repair”. It is believed the church was destroyed at the time of the Cromwellian invasion led locally by Captain William Bolton. The Aylward family had ruled the local area for around 500 years with an origin story of a Bristol merchant named Aylward arriving in the same fleet as Henry II in 1171. The Aylward family built a castle reputed to be close to the graveyard and both this and the church were destroyed by Bolton who subsequently was granted the Aylward’s lands. Subsequently many generations of the Bolton family were interred inside the walls of the church that had been destroyed.

GPS: 52.25749, -7.01439