St Mary’s Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A five bay long neo-gothic style church with two storey projection at each gable and short narrow transepts.The transept next Irish Green Street is terminated with a sturdy crenellated tower. Construction is of ( rust stained) rubble stonework and each corner is decorated with an ashlar sandstone diagonal buttress, each shouldered, panelled and finished with slim finials. Roofs are pitched and slated. The nave has tall two light cusped windows, those to Irish Green Street are trimmed with sandstone and complete with pointed hood moulding above which is a stone relieving arch. The windows overlooking the graveyard to the rear have a flat surround of cement rendering on a concealed brick trimming.The window to the gable of the west transept has a pointed hood moulding. This one and one other on the west side has simple Y tracery and all the nave windows have a transome placed low. Four of the windows have diamond panes. In the rear of the nave (north side end) there is a narrow two light window on each side of the tall entrance porch. These windows are treated similarly to those of the long walls and are repeated on the sides of the entrance porch and on the north walls of the transepts.

The main entrance door in the north gable has ashlar sandstone trim with bottom blocking piece and a Tudor arch head. There is a square hood moulding with spandrels filled with sunken mouchettes and above a plain horizontal panel for inscriptions, all in sandstone. Unfortunately the inscription here is in inappropriate applied lettering, one of which is missing. Over the entrance door is a large pointed window in the proportions of the decorated gothic period but with tracery in a semi perpendicular manner. This window lights the rear portion of the gallery and is capped with a pointed hood moulding. The barge of the entrance gable is in simple moulded sandstone while that of the nave gable behind it is crenellated.

Unlike the rest of the building the squattish tower is built entirely of sandstone. Its eastern corners are stiffened with diagonal buttresses, three times shouldered and panelled while the other two buttresses at the junction with the east transept are at right angles to the wall. Probably they were in the diagonal position to the transept before the tower was built as the latter is much later.. The tower has three stages though the bottom two read as one and a moulded string course separates the top where the belfry begins and steps to rise vertically to another slim cavette cornice topped with meagre battlements. The roof is flat. A pair of tall narrow pointed lancets adorn each face of the belfry and capped with paired pointed label mouldings. There are no louvres which add to the gauntness of the belfry. The east door in the tower is treated similarly to the north portal. Lettering is cut in the sandstone commemorating the parish priest of the time and giving the building date.

Above the doorway there is a flattish sandstone relieving arch and above that lighting the second stage a large three light 13th century style gothic window with label moulding. On the flanking walls of the tower lighting the porch there is a tall two light lancet similar to those in the side walls of the main entrance.

The two storey sacristy block at the south end has symmetrically composed almost identical long walls with centred square headed small doorway with window on either side.
having square heads on the west side and pointed on the east, above the door a single window. On the gable, at ground floor three small pointed windows, closely spaced and above a single, symmetrically grouped. All these windows have rectangular small panes in contrast to those of the church. Oddly the narrower west transept has a flat roof, its parapet treated with simple frieze and coping. At each gable apex a rectangular sandstone base supporting a plain Roman cross.

An old photograph dated 1888 in the first floor meeting room shows the north end without the porch and it would appear that the portal and window were dismantled and re-erected in the present position. The flanking buttresses removed and rebuilt as the diagonals on the porch corners and adjusted height-wise.

The church is sited close to Irish Green Street with a 1.5 metre high wall separating it from the footpath. This wall, south of the pillars and gates is of squared and snecked rubble sandstone with a coping of segmental sandstone blocks.North of the gates it is of random rubble sandstone construction with a cement coping.Pillars are of square ashlar sandstone construction with block pyramidal coping. To the north of the church is the large two storey rendered parochial house and behind the church a long well filled graveyard.

Historical information

The present church which replaces a former church built at Roe Mill graveyard c1783 ( now demolished) was established on the site in Irish Green Street given by John Alexander and fund raising begun by Father Boyle PP. Work of erection began and foundation stone laid on 15 August 1836. Work progressed slowly and the roof was put on during the administration of Father John O’Doherty (1843-44). The church was completed during the time Father Bernard O’Neill was parish priest (1845-47). George Given (1845-83) is referred to as architect (Slaters Directory of Ireland 1846). The ceiling and gallery were installed in the late 1850s, the sanctuary improved and around the same time the site for the parochial house was purchased. In 1896 Dr Edward O’Brien, parish priest (1890-1903) erected the tower and added the north porch, extended the gallery and changed the access stairways. The builder was Jack McLaughlin. The church bell installed by Dr O’Brien is named St Michael’s and bears the following inscription

M Byrne Fountain Head Bell Foundry James Street Dublin
Ad Proclamandam Gloriam Dei Et in Honore Michaelis Archangeli
me paravit ipse Comharba Sancti Cainnecc In Magna Ecclesia
De Ro Anno Rep Sal 1896 RVMO Joanne O’Doherty EPO

He removed the baptismal font from the west transept and installed a shrine to St Anthony (later to be commemorated in a stained glass window). Side altars were installed in c1910 and in 1913 a new organ wasinstalled. This was still functioning after re-building in 1982. In 1914 the porch was tiled and the present Stations of the Cross were added in mosaic and neo-gothic frame donated by Susan and Sarah O’Kane in 1918.The church was renovated in 1971 and again in 1982 which saw the removal of high altar, reredos, side altars, sanctuary wall decoration and niches and the present sanctuary fittings installed. Architects Hegarty Masterson and Doherty.

References:

Ordnance Survey Memoirs Vol 9
P Donnelly- The Great Church of the Roe
S P Mitchell -The Land of the Roe
Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary
Souvenir Booklet of Limavady Bazaar 1929

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A sturdily built neo-gothic early Victorian style church superior to most of the structures erected in the Catholic Diocese of Derry at the time. Similar in style to St Columb’s catholic church in the Waterside area of Derry built in the same period. Many details are similar such as gable crenellations and window types. J J McCarthy is recorded as being associated with the latter. It is a vigorous, confident building with extensions i.e. north porch, sacristy improvements, and tower carried out in sympathy with the original structure. It has architectural detail more in common with Church of Ireland ecclesiastical buildings of the mid 19th century and earlier. Its foundation is important in the local historical and social context.