Survey Data
Reg No
31305905
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1910 - 1915
Coordinates
113236, 304880
Date Recorded
06/01/2011
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached six-bay double-height Catholic church, designed 1911-3; dated 1912; built 1912-3, on a rectangular plan comprising five-bay double-height nave opening into single-bay double-height chancel (west); single-bay two-stage turret (north-east) on a circular plan. Renovated, ----, with sanctuary reordered. Undergoing renovation, 2010. Pitched slate roofs with perforated crested terracotta ridge tiles, lichen-covered dragged cut-limestone chamfered coping to gables on drag edged dragged cut-limestone ogee corbel kneelers with Celtic Cross finials to apexes, and cast-iron rainwater goods on drag edged dragged cut-limestone consoles retaining cast-iron downpipes. Repointed snecked rock faced limestone walls on dragged cut-limestone cushion course on battered base with drag edged rock faced cut-limestone to corners. Round-headed window openings with drag edged dragged cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing fixed-pane fittings having margined square glazing bars. Round-headed "Trinity Window" (west) with drag edged dragged cut-limestone block-and-start surround having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Round-headed door opening (east), drag edged dragged cut-limestone block-and-start surround having moulded reveals with hood moulding on label stops framing timber boarded double doors having decorative flat iron hinges. Round-headed flanking window openings with drag edged dragged cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Hexafoil "Rose Window" (gable), dragged cut-limestone surround having bull nose-detailed reveals with hood moulding on label stops framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Interior including vestibule (east); square-headed door opening into nave with glazed timber panelled double doors having sidelights on panelled risers below overlight; full-height interior open into roof with quatrefoil-detailed timber panelled choir gallery (east) below stained glass "Rose Window" (2008), carpeted central aisle between cruciform-detailed timber pews, paired Gothic-style timber stations between frosted glass windows, exposed round arch braced strutted collared timber roof construction on beaded "Bowtell" corbels with wind braced timber boarded ceiling in carved timber frame on carved timber cornice, and round-headed chancel arch framing carpeted stepped dais to sanctuary (east) reordered, ----, with Gothic-style high altar below stained glass "Trinity Window" (2008). Set in relandscaped grounds.
Appraisal
A church erected to designs (1911-3) by William Henry Byrne and Son (formed 1902) of Suffolk Street, Dublin (Building News 23rd February 1912, 288; 9th October 1914, 461), representing an important component of the early twentieth-century ecclesiastical heritage of County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition, one recalling the contemporary Catholic Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (1913-6) in Strade (see 31307027), confirmed by such attributes as the compact rectilinear plan form; the robust rock faced surface finish with sheer limestone dressings not only demonstrating good quality workmanship, but also providing an interplay of light and shade in an otherwise monochrome palette; and the slender profile of the openings underpinning a streamlined Hiberno-Romanesque theme with chancel defined by an elegant "Trinity Window". Having been well maintained, the form and massing survive intact together with substantial 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 a modified high altar; and vibrant stained glass 'DESIGNED & PAINTED [2008] BY TRISHA SLOWEY' (cf. 31302501), all highlight the artistic potential of the composition: furthermore, an exposed timber roof construction pinpoints the engineering or technical dexterity of a church making a pleasing visual statement in a rural street scene.