Survey Data
Reg No
12400501
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1820 - 1825
Coordinates
245146, 177114
Date Recorded
17/10/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached seven-bay double-height Catholic church, dated 1822, on a cruciform plan comprising five-bay double-height nave opening into single-bay (single-bay deep) double-height transepts centred on single-bay double-height shallow chancel to crossing (west). Reconstructed, 1923, producing present composition. Renovated, ----, with sanctuary reordered. Pitched slate roof on a cruciform plan with clay ridge tiles, Cross finial-topped rendered gabled bellcote to apex to entrance (east) front framing cast-bronze bell, and replacement rainwater goods on rendered eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Rendered, ruled and lined walls. Pointed-arch window openings with cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having stained glass margins centred on square glazing bars. Square-headed door opening to entrance (east) front with threshold, and concealed dressings framing replacement timber boarded double doors. Pointed-arch window opening (gable), concealed dressings with hood moulding below portrait keystone framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fitting having stained glass margins centred on square glazing bars. Pointed-arch window openings (transepts) with cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Lancet window openings (west) with cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Full-height interior with perforated timber panelled choir gallery (east), carpeted central aisle between timber pews, Gothic-style timber stations between frost glass memorial windows (----), stained glass memorial windows (----), panelled side altars centred on carpeted stepped dais to sanctuary to crossing (west) reordered, ----, with cut-veined white marble Gothic-style altar, and moulded plasterwork cornice to vaulted ceiling centred on "Acanthus"-detailed plasterwork ceiling roses. Set in landscaped grounds with rusticated rendered piers to perimeter having "Cyma Recta"- or "Cyma Reversa"-detailed shallow pyramidal capping supporting cast-iron double gates.
Appraisal
A church representing an integral component of the ecclesiastical heritage of County Kilkenny with the architectural value of the composition, one showing the hallmarks of a period of construction coinciding with the gradual dismantling of the Penal Laws in anticipation of the Roman Catholic Relief Act, 1829, suggested by such attributes as the traditional cruciform plan form, aligned along an inverted liturgically-correct axis; the "pointed" profile of the openings underpinning a contemporary Georgian Gothic theme; and the bellcote embellishing the roofline as a picturesque eye-catcher in the landscape: meanwhile, aspects of the composition illustrate the near-total reconstruction of the church in the early twentieth century. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior reordered (----) in accordance with the liturgical reforms sanctioned by the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (1962-5) where contemporary joinery; vibrant stained glass; a modified altar; and sleek plasterwork refinements, all highlight the artistic potential of a church making a pleasing visual statement in a rural village street scene.