Survey Data
Reg No
31306301
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1850 - 1860
Coordinates
147654, 301806
Date Recorded
07/11/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached eight-bay double-height Catholic church, begun 1855; consecrated 1858; extant 1895, comprising six-bay double-height nave opening into six-bay single-storey lean-to side aisles centred on two-bay double-height chancel (east). Renovated, 1974-5, with sanctuary reordered. Reroofed, 2000. Replacement pitched slate roofs with lean-to slate roofs to side aisles, clay ridge tiles, lichen-covered dragged cut-limestone coping to gables on drag edged tooled cut-limestone kneelers with cut-limestone Cross finials to apexes, lichen-covered dragged cut-limestone coping to gable to entrance (west) front on drag edged tooled cut-limestone kneelers with repointed drag edged tooled limestone ashlar gabled bellcote to apex, and uPVC rainwater goods on timber eaves boards on exposed timber rafters retaining cast-iron downpipes. Tuck pointed snecked rock faced limestone walls repointed, 1995, on drag edged tooled cut-limestone chamfered cushion course on plinth with drag edged tooled cut-limestone stepped buttresses including drag edged tooled cut-limestone clasping buttresses to corners having drag edged tooled cut-limestone "slated" coping. Cinquefoil window openings (clerestorey) with drag edged tooled cut-limestone surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having lattice glazing bars. Cusped lancet window openings in bipartite arrangement (side aisles) with drag edged tooled cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having stained glass margins centred on leaded stained glass panels. Pointed-arch window opening to chancel (east) on cut-limestone stringcourse, drag edged tooled cut-limestone block-and-start having chamfered reveals with hood moulding over framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having stained glass margins centred on leaded stained glass panels. Paired cusped lancet window openings to "cheeks" with drag edged tooled cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having stained glass margins centred on leaded stained glass panels. Cusped lancet "Trinity Window" to entrance (west) front with drag edged tooled cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having stained glass margins centred on lattice glazing bars. Interior including vestibule (west); square-headed door opening into nave with glazed timber panelled double doors, full-height interior redecorated, 1997, with timber panelled choir gallery (east) below stained glass memorial "Trinity Window" (2008), vinyl central aisle between cruciform-detailed timber pews, pointed-arch arcades on drag edged dragged limestone ashlar chamfered pillars, timber boarded polygonal vaulted ceiling in carved timber frame on carved timber cornice, pointed-arch chancel arch framing mosaic tiled cut-veined white marble stepped dais to sanctuary (east) reordered, 1974-5, with cut-veined white marble panelled altar (1891) below stained glass "East Window" (1858), cut-limestone (ob. 1869) or cut-veined white marble (ob. 1878) wall monuments (north) with cut-veined white marble panelled side altar (south) below stained glass memorial window (ob. 1895), quatrefoil-detailed timber panelled wainscoting to side aisles supporting carved timber dado rail, paired memorial stations (1950) between stained glass memorial windows (1909-1931; ob. 1890-1912), and exposed STRUTTED timber roof construction on drag edged cut-limestone beaded corbels with wind braced rafters to ceiling on quatrefoil-detailed frieze. Set in landscaped grounds with cruciform-detailed rendered, ruled and lined chamfered piers to perimeter having "Cavetto"-detailed gabled capping.
Appraisal
A church erected 'by the exertions of Charles Strickland Esquire [1818-92] of Lough Glyn House in the County of Roscommon', and to a design attributed to Matthew Ellison Hadfield (1812-85) and George Goldie (1828-87) of Sheffield and Westminster (Dublin Builder 1860, 324; Richardson 1970 II, 487), regarded as an important component of the mid nineteenth-century ecclesiastical heritage of County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition, one 'obediently realising the ideals of [Augustus Welby Northmore] Pugin in the context of an Irish village' (Williams 1994, 304), confirmed by such attributes as the rectilinear plan form, aligned along a liturgically-correct axis; the rock faced surface finish offset by "sparrow pecked" sheer limestone dressings not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also compounding a ponderous palette; the slender profile of the coupled openings underpinning a "medieval" Gothic theme with the chancel defined by an elegant "East Window"; and the handsome bellcote embellishing the roofline as a picturesque eye-catcher in the landscape. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the historic or original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior reordered (1974-5) in accordance with the liturgical reforms sanctioned by the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (1962-5) where contemporary joinery; wall monuments signed by Bernard Joseph Taylor (b. 1867/8) and Patrick J. Neill (fl. 1870-92) of Dublin; stained glass supplied (1909-12) by Joshua Clarke and Sons (established 1892) of North Frederick Street, Dublin, with later jewel-like glass produced (1931) by the Harry Clarke Stained Glass Studios (closed 1973) of Dublin; mosaic work attributable to Ludwig Oppenheimer Limited (established 1865) of Old Trafford, Manchester; a much-modified high altar; and the vibrant Ellison Memorial "East Window" (1858), all highlight the artistic potential of the composition: meanwhile, a part exposed timber roof construction pinpoints the engineering or technical dexterity of a church making an imposing visual statement in a planned village setting.