Beauty and Mystery,
a feeling you will never forget!Park your car in Heysham village car park (reasonably priced!) and take a leisurely stroll across the square and up the narrow streets towards St. Peters Church and St. Patrick's Chapel. As you get closer you will notice the overhanging trees, further on and the noise of the traffic disappears, until all you can hear is the birds and the breeze. An eerie presence and the mild smell of ammonia as you walk up towards the chapel, the atmosphere is set, a feeling that will stay with you forever. You begin to wonder how life would have been all those years ago.
The wording on the sign (provided by the English Heritage, Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance and Lancaster City Council) as you walk towards the chapel:St. Partick's Chapel
The ruins of this chapel and rock-cut graves form one of the oldest surviving Christian monuments in north west England, dating from the 8th century AD.
This ancient and atmospheric ruin belongs to one of the earliest Christian sites in north -west England. The chapel of St. Patrick, a tall narrow building, was first built in the 8th century AD and enlarged to both east and west a century of so later. The south doorway survives but a narrow window to the east of the door has now gone. Associated with the chapel are tow sets of graves, cut into the solid rock, some of which originally had stone of wooden markers. Nothing quite like these is known to survive anywhere else.
Excavations by the University of Lancaster took place here in 1977 and 1978. Outside the door of the chapel is an area where the bedrock falls away. In this depression were found many burials, including one of a woman with a Viking-age bone comb at her side.
A very fine stone-carving, representing a bird's head, perhaps forming the arm of a ceremonial chair, Also came to light here, reused as the cover of a grave. The earliest chapel had painted wall-plaster and was obviously very elaborate.
Despite the excavations we still do not know the purpose for which the chapel was built. It does not seem to have been part of a monastery and may rather have been the chapel of a private estate. It clearly developed in size and complexity over several centuries. The parish church or St. Peter, which lies next to it, but below the rocky outcrop, is of a similar date, which complicates the question.
We do not know either how old the rock-cut graves are, but they seem to date from at least before the Norman Conquest, and may even be earlier than the chapel. It seems likely that someone of great sanctity was first buried here and that others chose burial close by, despite the difficulties, in order to share in the sanctity. The site is not early enough to be connected with the famous St. Patrick.
Les ruins de cette chapelle et les tombes excavée de la roche font un des monuments chrétiens les plus anciens du nord-ouest de I'Angleterre, qui date du 8ieme siecle ap. J.C.
Die Ruine der Kapelle und die aus dem Felsen gehauenen Gråber gehren zu den åltesten christlichen Denkamålern Englands, sie datieren aus dem 8en Jahrhundert n.Chr.
Las ruinas de esta capilla y las tumbas cortadas en roca constituyer uno de los monumentos mas antiguos exitentes de la epoca cristiana del noroeste de Inhlaterra. Datan del siglo octavo A.C.
Ruinernje af dette kapel og de klippeudskårne grave danner et af de aeldste, bevarede, kristne mindes-maerker i det nordvestlige England, og er dateret tilbage til det 8, århundrede e.Kr.
A certain amount of tidying-up and conservation work took place here in the 1860s under Rev. Royds (a Latin inscription recording this is cut into the rock on the lower path) and again in 1903. the thin slabs of stone in the chapel walls mark the latter work. Various finds from the excavations are now in Lancaster City Museum. The site is a scheduled ancient monument and protected by law. Please respect it and don not climb on the stonework of graves or disturb the turf in any way. This is part of your heritage. For further information contact the Curator, Lancaster City Museums, Tel Lancaster 64637.
The sign nearby has dated the chapel back to the 6th century, but we feel the chap who sign wrote this was probably misinformed, dyslexic or drunk!
