St. Elizabeth's, Dundonald

St. Elizabeth's, is a religious site for St. Elizabeth's Church and St. Elizabeth's Church Graveyard located at Church Green, Dundonald, Northern Ireland.^[1] The site sits on the townland of Church Quarter, beside the Moat Park and off Church Road, Dundonald. It is an active Anglican Christian parish church under the Church of Ireland.^[2] St. Elizabeth's Church dates back to the 14th century, it was rebuilt beside the original site in 1966.^[3] The original church building is still standing, surrounded by St. Elizabeth's Church Graveyard form the medieval period.^[4][5]

The old, derelict St. Elizabeth's Church building located within the St. Elizabeth's Church Graveyard

Side view of the modern St. Elizabeth's Church building, Cleland Mausoleum in the background

History

St. Elizabeth's Church Graveyard was the first graveyard in Dundonald. Due to its small size and increasing population in Belfast, the larger Dundonald Cemetery opened in 1905.^[6] It features the Cleland Mausoleum, a large memorial to Samuel Cleland in 1842. It was erected by his wife at a cost of £2000. It was built at such a height so it could be seen from the Cleland family home, Stormont Castle.^[7]

In the early 20th-century, Agnes Romily White's Father was the rector of the church.^[8]

In 2014, the modern building went under construction, which seen a new car park and front exterior.^[9][10]

Queen's University Belfast - School of Geography, Archaeology and Paleoecology had completed excavations and examinations on the old church and graveyard, lasting 8 weeks. This The work was carried out by the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, and was funded by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.^[11]

From the study, in which Queen's still monitor the Church and Graveyard, had found that it had been originally built as early as the 14th century, and was likely perished during the Bruce invasion, were the motte and bailey (now known as the moat hill) was destroyed. Following this, no records exist until the 17th century.^[12]

Sport

St. Elizabeth's Football Club (now defunct) represented the church, winning the 1954–55 season NAFL 2 Division A. They were runners-up twice.^[13] They were nicknamed the "hatchet men".