Cathedral

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated towards the bottom of an E-facing slope. Ferns was established as a diocese at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111 AD, and it continues in this role down to the present. The cathedral church of Ferns was built on the site of St Mogue's church (WX015-003002-) in the 13th century, probably by John St. John, the first Anglo-Norman bishop of the diocese (1223-1253). Burnt by Fiach Mac Hugh O'Byrne in 1575, it was restored by him in 1577, possibly in its present form. The diocesan centre may have been moved to St. Mary's, New Ross for a period after this. The church was re-vamped in 1817 when the present tower and the chapter house to the W were built (McFall 1954, 10). Within the present cathedral is the effigy of a bishop, who might be John St. John (Hunt 1974, vol. 1, 237–8), or Adam de Northampton who died in 1346 (Hore 1910, 300).

The surviving architecture is difficult to interpret, but the original cathedral may have been of a great size. Hore (1900-11, vol. 6, 165-6) thought the present church was built on the W end of the centre aisle of the nave, and that the structure E of the present church was the original chancel (total L c. 60m). O'Byrne rebuilt the original E windows in the foreshortened cathedral. Clapham (1952, 36-9), followed by Leask (1955, vol. 2, 99-101) and McFall (1954, 10-13), thinks the present church is built on the chancel of the cathedral. In this view the medieval church was cruciform in plan with an aisled nave and an aisled chancel. Only sections of four piers from the chancel, a double piscina and parts of the E wall of the chancel survive with a double barrel-vault undercroft beneath the chancel. The central E window, which is five small lancets increasing in height towards the centre is not original, although the two flanking lancets and oval lights above them are illustrated in an Austin Cooper drawing of 1786 (ibid. 13). This drawing shows the old tower occupying the W end of the present church with the ruins of a S transept extending into the graveyard. In this case the original nave might extend W for an unknown length under the roadway.

Only the central and E parts of the present cathedral with the attached columns from the aisles of the chancel displayed internally is original. The base of what was a crossing tower is incorporated into its W end, the chamfered angles of which are visible externally. The chancel of the present cathedral with the double barrel-vaulted crypt underneath is largely original, apart from the five central lancet windows. The structure E of the present chancel (int. dims. 12m plus E-W; 7.05m N-S) is aligned on the present church and was probably the original chapter house. It has evidence of seven lancet windows in the N wall and 6 in the S wall, but its floor level would be over 1m lower than that of the Cathedral. (Hore 1910–11, vol. 6, 168–9; McFall 1954; Harbison 1975, 247; Bradley and King 1990, 53-7)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 30 April, 2012

References

Hore, P. H. 1910 Ferns, Co. Wexford. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 40, 297-315.

Clapham, A. 1952 Some minor Irish Cathedrals. In Memorial Volume to Sir Alfred Clapham, supplement to the Archaeological Journal vol. 106, 16-39.

Hunt, J. 1974 Irish medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish University Press.

Leask, H.G. 1960 (Reprint 1967 and 1990) Irish churches and monastic buildings, vol. II. Gothic architecture to A.D. 1400. Dundalk. Dundalgan Press.

McFall, Rev. T.H.C. 1954 An account of the history of Ferns Cathedral Church. Privately published, Dublin.

Hore, P.H. 1900-1911 (Reprint 1979) History of the town and county of Wexford, 6 vols. Dublin. Published by arrangement with W.A. Hennessy Esq.

Harbison, P. 1975 (2nd. ed. 1992 reprint) Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Gill and Macmillan, Dublin.

Bradley, J. and King, H. 1990 Urban archaeological survey - county Wexford. Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.