Survey Data
Reg No
15618023
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Scientific, Social, Technical
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1890 - 1900
Coordinates
273063, 108469
Date Recorded
03/09/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding eight-bay double-height Catholic church, begun 1891; stalled 1892; completed 1896; dated 1896, on a rectangular plan comprising seven-bay double-height nave opening into single-bay double-height apse on a half-octagonal plan (east); single-bay single-storey gabled advanced porch (west); single-bay three-stage tower on a square plan (south-west). Renovated, 1966, with sanctuary reordered. Pitched slate roof; half-octagonal slate roof (east), roll moulded clay ridge tiles, lichen-spotted coping to gables with Cross finials to apexes, and cast-iron rainwater goods on cut-granite beaded consoles with cast-iron downpipes. Cut-granite banded snecked "Old Red Sandstone" walls on cut-granite chamfered cushion course on plinth with clasping stepped buttresses to corners (west) having cut-granite "slated" coping. Lancet window openings between stepped buttresses with cut-granite block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having margined square glazing bars. Pointed-arch window openings (east) with cut-granite interlocking mullions, and cut-granite block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Pointed-arch door opening (west) with mosaic tiled cut-granite step threshold, and cut-granite block-and-start surround having engaged colonnette-detailed reveals with hood moulding framing timber boarded double doors having overlight. Lancet flanking window openings with cut-granite block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Roundel-detailed pointed-arch "Trinity Window" (gable) with cut-granite Y-mullions, and cut-granite block-and-start surround having chamfered reveals framing storm glazing over fixed-pane fittings having leaded stained glass panels. Full-height interior with timber panelled choir gallery on an engaged half-octagonal plan below stained glass memorial "Trinity Window" (----), carpeted central aisle between timber pews in embossed cast-iron frames, diagonal timber boarded wainscoting with carved timber dado rail, Classical-style timber stations between frosted glass windows, exposed trefoil arch braced Hammerbeam timber roof construction on cut-granite "Cavetto" corbels with pointed-arch wind braced stencilled ceiling in carved timber frame on carved timber cornice, and pointed-arch chancel arch framing cut-veined white marble stepped dais to sanctuary (east) reordered, 1966, with quatrefoil-detailed cut-veined white marble panelled altar below stained glass memorial windows (----). Set in landscaped grounds on a slightly elevated site with chamfered piers to perimeter having Star of the Sea-detailed gabled capping supporting crocketed wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A church erected under the aegis of Reverend Thomas Doyle (1817-1903) representing an important component of the late nineteenth-century built heritage of south County Wexford with the architectural value of the composition confirmed by such attributes as the rectilinear plan form; the construction in a ruby-coloured "Old Red Sandstone" with silver-grey granite dressings producing a lively two-tone palette; the slender profile of the openings underpinning a "medieval" Gothic theme with the polygonal apse defined by cusped "East Windows"; and the spire-less tower rising above the roof as a prominent eye-catcher in the landscape. 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 (1966) in accordance with the liturgical reforms sanctioned by the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (1962-5) where contemporary joinery; stained glass signed by Atkinson Brothers (established 1876) of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and Pugin-esque stencil work, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition: meanwhile, a sinuous Hammerbeam roof construction pinpoints the engineering or technical interest of a church forming part of a self-contained group alongside an adjacent presbytery (see 15618024) with the resulting ecclesiastical ensemble making a pleasing visual statement in a seaside village street scene.