Aghanloo Church of Ireland Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Situated on the west side of Aghanloo Road in the Townland of Drumbane the church of St Luggeius is orientated east/west so that its chancel end faces the road and the entrance path passes along the nave to the entrance door under the tower.

The church, which is small, measuring approximately 16½ metres by 7½ metres internally, consists of a coursed basalt built nave, three bays long with pointed windows widely spaced on the south side, and a three stage tower which tapers over the belfry stage and crowned with simple narrow pointed pinnacles between which are stepped crenellations. The chancel is not defined externally and the east gable has a triple light pointed window with white painted timber tracery and a small quatrefoil in the apex echoing the two light windows of the nave. The gable has plain barge stones which are returned to form a pediment infilled with coursed basalt stone and in the centre a slit trimmed with sandstone and a little hood moulding to ventilate the roofspace. All the windows are trimmed with ashlar stonework and terminated with moulded label mould returned horizontally at each end. On the north side is a narrow single light pointed window lighting a store. Where the roof abuts the tower the barge stones have been omitted, probably in a recent renovation, though the horizontal string course has been retained and returns around the tower defining its first stage. All external angles of walls have sandstone quoins. Basalt work has good examples of galletting technique.

The three stage tower has a narrow tall single lancet on its west side at entrance level while on the north there is a blank lancet and on the south side a pointed doorway, its double doors are made of framed and sheeted timber stained brown/red. The second stage which is half the height of the first is punctuated on three sides with square headed two light windows, that on the north side is a blank. Each window has a square headed label moulding. The third stage with its battered walls forms the belfry and has a tall single pointed louvred opening on each face and each similarly trimmed as other windows. The string course defining the parapet wall has small simple moulded corbels on the underside. The roof of the nave is slated with Bangor blue slates in good repair and a simple blue black ridge tile. Rainwater goods are in cast iron with half round guttering which spills into circular trunkheads with circular downpipes. These are painted black on the south side.

The church is approached by a short laneway, with row of beech trees on the north side to a gateway in a stone boundary wall enclosing a small graveyard with the church in the middle. Outside the east end a bump or rise in the ground indicates the vault of John Beresford d. 1849. Other plots of note are the one of Marcus La Touche McCausland d. 2 Aug 1989; James Chambers Martin of Ballycastle d. 30 Sept. 1903; Lane plot of Ballycarton. The church is silhouetted against a backcloth of trees making a pleasing
setting.

Historical information

In 1806 the old church of Aghanloo in Townland of Rathfad was in ruins and walls too bad to repair. As the Glebe house had been built in 1798 services were held in it until a new church was erected adjacent in the townland of Drumbane. This church designed by Dublin architect, John Bowden for Board of First Fruits. It commenced on 12 August 1823 and completed 25 March 1825 at cost of £900 “furnished by the Board of First Fruits”. The parish paid £37 to enclose the churchyard.

References
Ordnance Survey Memoir Vol. 11
Parishes of Derry and Raphoe Leslie
Buildings of North Derry UAHS by Girvan

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A good example of a late Georgian planter’s church well preserved in form, style, detail and materials and a fine example of John Bowden’s work in the north west area. It well illustrates his approach to small rural church design as architect to the Board of First Fruits.