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Archaeology Sites

Scheduled Ancient Monument - St. Patrick's Chapel and St. Peter's Church

District: Lancaster
Name: St. Patrick's Chapel and St. Peter's Church, Heysham.
Description: Saxon chapel and rock-cut graves on headland. Adjacent Norman church with Pre-Conquest cross shaft and hogback tombstone.

St.Patricks chapel is an undivided rectangular building, like a Celtic Oratory, of the tenth century, except that it has a round Saxon arch to the doorway. The chapel was probably used by the Vikings who settled here in the tenth century. Outside the church are eight rock cut graves, six of which have sockets at the head. Six of the graves are to the west of the chapel, and two are to the east, being smaller than the others. All are aligned east - west.

The chapel itself is 27 feet 6 inches long inside by 9 feet wide, the walls being 2 feet 6 inches thick, constructed of irregularly coursed rubble masonry. The remains vary in height from foundation level to 12 feet high. At the east end of the south wall is the west jamb of a window, splayed on the inside, and toward the west there is a semicircular headed doorway, with the head being composed of three slabs of masonry, and the jambs of slabs alternately placed upright and flat, extending the whole thickness of the wall. It is suggested that the church is of Celtic rather than Saxon origin. Excavations in 1977 by Lancaster University found that the existing structure was partly reconstructed. The original building of which the foundations are exposed is smaller than the present ruin. Also discovered were several inhumations, some sherds of medieval pottery and a stone with a carved birds head.

The rock cut graves are located six on the west of the chapel, and two on the east. The six are orientated east-west with the head to the west and are roughly cut coffin shapes. They vary in length from 1.6m to 1.9m and at the head of five of them are sockets for crosses or headstones. Three of the graves have recessed lips for the reception of grave slabs or covers. To the south east of the chapel are two similar, but smaller, graves again aligned east - west with the head to the west. They are 1.8m and 1.0m long respectively, the smaller one having a socket for a cross or headstone at the head. Cut into the rock nearby is a hole similar to the aforementioned cross sockets, but there is no associated grave visible, it measures 0.3m by 0.25m by 0.2m deep. No accurate date can be given to these graves due to the lack of grave goods and comparable examples.

SD: 40990,61650

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