Survey Data
Reg No
31811003
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social, Technical
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1815 - 1825
Coordinates
192720, 280783
Date Recorded
04/08/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached cruciform Church of Ireland Church, built in 1820, with octagonal nave, three-stage entrance tower with spire at west side, vestry to north and chancel to east. Hipped and pitched reslated roof. Cut limestone gabled elevations to north, south and east with castellated parapets containing blind quatrefoils and flanked by pilasters topped with pinnacles. Tower with cut limestone walls, buttresses, castellations, pinnacles and needle-spire. Projecting vestry to north with pitched slate roof. Pointed-arched recessed entrance to tower with timber battened door. Date plaque '1820 A.D.' above entrance. Chamfered shouldered-arched door to vestry with timber battened door. Pointed-arched window openings, some with Y-tracery to nave containing diamond-paned and stained-glass windows and with traceried four-light east window. Paired lancets to vestry. Church is set within graveyard containing various stone grave markers and mausolea. Earliest grave marker dates to 1766. Site bounded by random coursed stone wall and cast-iron railings to street front with cut stone piers and gates.
Appraisal
St John's Church of Ireland Church, situated on one of the main roads leading into Strokestown, is an imposing and unusual structure. Its octagonal plan is heightened by pinnacles at every angle, echoing the ashlar spire that surmounts the otherwise squat tower. The elongated fenestration and buttresses on the tower also create the illusion of height. The graveyard with its large mausolea and grave markers enhance the setting of the church. This fine Gothic Revival church parallels the gates of Strokestown, which terminate the vista of Bawn Street.