Main Record - County Waterford |
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| Saint Thomas's Church, County Waterford
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| 22901801 |
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| Reg. No. | 22901801 |
| Date | 1815 - 1820 |
| Previous Name | N/A |
| Townland | BALLYNAKILL (GAUL. BY.) |
| County | County Waterford |
| Coordinates | 263891, 110172 |
| Categories of Special Interest | ARTISTIC ARCHITECTURAL HISTORICAL SOCIAL TECHNICAL |
| Rating | Regional |
| Original Use | church/chapel |
| In Use As | church hall/parish hall |
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Description
Detached three-bay double-height Board of First Fruits Church of Ireland church, built 1816, with single-bay three-stage entrance tower to south-west on a square plan. Extended, c.1865, comprising single-bay double-height lower chancel to north-east having single-bay single-storey vestry to north, and possibly with roof remodelled to nave. Extended, c.1965, comprising single-bay single-storey flat-roofed block to north-east to accommodate use as hall. Pitched slate roof (possibly remodelled, c.1865; hipped to chancel; pitched to return), with decorative clay ridge tiles, cut-stone coping to gables having Fleur-de-Lys finial to north-east, and profiled cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves. Roof to tower not visible behind parapet. Flat bitumen felt roof to additional block with plastic rainwater goods on timber eaves. Unpainted rendered walls with cut-stone dressings to tower including stringcourses to each stage, rendered advanced corner piers to top stage, and rendered battlemented parapet on cut-stone course having consoles, and cut-stone coping. Lancet window openings (paired to vestry forming bipartite arrangement) with cut-stone sills, cut-stone block-and-start surrounds to vestry, and fixed-pane windows (fixed-pane diamond-leaded windows to vestry). Square-headed window openings to first and to second stage to tower with cut-stone sills, chamfered reveals, and fixed-pane timber windows having diamond-leaded panels. Lancet openings to top (bell) stage to tower with cut-stone sills, chamfered reveals, timber mullions (forming paired lancet arrangement), and lattice panels over louvered timber fittings. Pointed-arch door opening with chamfered reveals, bas relief hood moulding over, and decorative timber panelled door having overpanel. Set back from road in own grounds with landscaped grounds to site.
(ii) Graveyard to site with various cut-stone grave markers, c.1815 - c.1965.
(iii) Gateway, c.1815, to south-west comprising pair of unpainted rendered piers with cut-stone capping, decorative iron double gates, and sections of random rubble stone flanking boundary walls to perimeter of site having lime mortar.
Appraisal
A well-composed modest-scale church conforming to a standard form and arrangement advocated by the Board of First Fruits (fl. c.1711 - 1833). Reasonably well maintained, the church retains most of its original form and early fabric. It is believed that an open timber roof construction to the interior has survived the conversion to an alternative use, which enhances the technical interest of the composition. Set in mature grounds, the church is complemented by an attendant graveyard containing markers attesting to high quality stone masonry and craftsmanship. The gateway to the grounds also augments the artistic design quality of the site. The church forms an appealing feature in the locality, and is of additional significance as a reminder of the once-prosperous Church of Ireland community in the area. |
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