Renshent Burial Ground
The site of an Early Medieval keeill or chapel and burial ground thought to date to the period AD 500-1000. Considerable remains of the keeill are visible although its present appearance dates largely from the clearing and partial reconstruction undertaken by the Inspector of Ancient Monuments, G.J.H. Neely, in 1935, when fallen stones and floor material were used to rebuild the 'robbed' walls. Externally, very few original stones are to be seen in the banking.
No trace of the burial-ground embankment (shown on the OS 1:2500 mapping of 1868) can now be seen, and the farmer asserted that he had never ploughed up graves there. Two stones outside of the keeill may be associated with it, and a third in the hedge-bank to the northwest may have been a tethering stone.
The above description is largely derived from J.R. Bruce's detailed record published in 1968. In recent years the current landowner has cleared vegetation from the site and now maintains it in this condition. The surrounding enclosure is now more obviously defined by a series of modern marker boulders, and part of the later field boundary has been removed to make the site more easily discernible. The grid reference is centred on the enclosure as now defined.
Connections
Book Chapters
- Parish: Malew
- Sheading: Rushen
- Grid Ref: SC2973076985
Sources
- Isle of Man Heritage Environment Record