St Patrick's Chapel, Heysham facts for kids
St Patrick's Chapel is an old, ruined building in Heysham, Lancashire, England. It sits on a small hill overlooking St Peter's Church. This chapel is very important! It is officially protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This means it's a special historic site that must be preserved.
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What Does St Patrick's Chapel Look Like?
The chapel was built a very long time ago, around the 8th or 9th century. It is made from sandstone rocks and stones. The building is shaped like a simple rectangle, a bit narrower at one end. It measures about 8.4 meters long and 2.7 meters wide.
In 1903, some work was done to make sure the chapel didn't fall down. They used stone tiles to strengthen it. Today, you can still see most of the south wall, the wall at the east end, and part of the north wall. The south wall has a doorway with a special design, including an arch with curved lines.
The Ancient Tombs Near the Chapel
Close to the chapel, there are some very old tombs carved right into the rock. There's one group of six tombs and another group of two. These tombs are from the 11th century and are also protected as Grade I listed sites. Each tomb likely had a wooden cross standing next to it, as there are holes for them. You might have seen these tombs before! They were even featured on the cover of the rock band Black Sabbath's album, The Best of Black Sabbath.
Discoveries from Archaeology
Archaeologists are like history detectives who dig up clues from the past.
Digging Up History at the Chapel
In 1977, archaeologists dug inside and around the chapel. They found that people were using this site as early as the late 6th or early 7th century. This was a time when Celtic Christianity was spreading, and local people spoke old British languages. The human skeletons found during this dig were from no earlier than the 10th century.
Even Older Discoveries
Another excavation happened in April 1993, in the land below the stone coffins. This time, no human bones were found. However, the archaeologists found more than 1,200 different items! These items showed that people had lived on this very spot about 12,000 years ago. Imagine, people were here thousands of years before the chapel was even thought of!
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
- Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire
- Scheduled monuments in Lancashire
- Listed buildings in Heysham
