The old church at Affane is an archetypal Board of First Fruits Church, built in 1819 to serve the Church of Ireland parishioners of the area around Affane and Villierstown. The Board of First Fruits was an institution set up to build and improve churches throughout Ireland in the 18th and early part of the 19th century, well over 700 churches were built or adapted during the board’s lifetime. Affane church has a very simple design with a single-bay three-stage entrance tower on its west side, it cost £500 to construct at the time. The graveyard that surrounds the church has a large number of attractive tombs, headstones and mausoleums, mostly dating from 1820 to 1920, indicating that there was a large Protestant community in the local area in the 18th and 19th century. Affane Church is certainly one of the most atmospheric ruins I have visited over the past number of years, amplified by nature’s relentless encroachment on the graves and markers of those now forgotten.

   • Affane old church and Graveyard  

My first visit to affane graveyard

#cemetery #crypt #coffin