ST. PATRICK'S R C CHURCH

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Symmetrical free-standing double-height pebbledash rendered Gothic Revival Roman Catholic church, erected c.1800. Cruciform on plan facing south and set back on the north side of Cushendall Road on an elevated site. Extensively renovated c.1965 with double-height vestibule extension added to the front gable.

Pitched natural slate roof with lead valleys, black clay ridgecombe tiles and set behind slightly raised gables with ashlar coping and stone crosses to the apexes. Replacement moulded steel guttering set on sandstone eaves courses and replacement steel box downpipes. Pebbledash rendered walling with smooth rendered plinth course. Pointed-headed window openings with chamfered sandstone ashlar surrounds, flush splayed sills, hood mouldings and coloured leaded glazing with storm glazing.

Symmetrical gabled front elevation largely obscured by 1960s vestibule extension. The original gable is flanked by octagonal sandstone ashlar piers rising above the roof line as tapered finials. This gable is dominated by a red sandstone bellcote rising above the apex of the gable housing a bronze bell within an open Gothic-styel bell arch and surmounted by an iron cross. The original gable has a pair of occuli at gallery level having quatrefoil window openings with steel-framed windows and leaded glazing. The three-bay 1960s extension has pointed-headed window openings (replicating the originals) formed in cast cement with the central entrance bay flanked by full-height stepped cast concrete buttresses. Pointed-headed door opening, also formed in cast concrete with chamfered surround, embellished spandrel panels and hood moulding. Double-leaf hardwood doors with vertically-sheeted panels and etched overlight. Door opens onto cobblelock platform and four cobblelock steps to front bitmac paved forecourt.

West nave elevation (N) and south cheek to west transept detailed as per original front gable with a further single octagonal pier to the south west corner of the transept only. The gabled west transept is abutted by a flight of concrete steps providing access to gallery level with a single central pointed-headed door opening having hardwood glazed and etched door. Square-headed door opening below steps with hardwood double-leaf doors set within the stepped structure.

Rear elevation with a central gabled chancel projection and lower gabled vestry block to the northeast re-entrant angle. Large pointed-headed chancel window opening with timber tracery and figurative leaded stained glass covered with storm glazing.

East nave elevation as per west elevation. The gabled transept is abutted by an original flight of stone steps with octagonal red sandstone piers and coping.

Materials
Roof Natural slate
RWG Replacement steel
Walling Pebbledash render
Windows Leaded coloured glazing

Setting:
Located on an elevated site and set back on the north side of Cushendall Road surrounded by stone and marble grave markers dating from the eighteenth-century set in lawn all enclosed by rubblestone walling to east, north and west. Bitmac driveway centred on the front entrance opening onto the road via pair of decorative wrought-iron gates hung on square-plan rendered piers with Gothic capstones and flanked by curved walls with matching railings and piers. Front site enclosed by matching rendered wall.

Historical information

St. Patrick’s Church, a Gothic Revival-style Roman Catholic Church located in the townland of Barnish, was originally constructed c. 1800, but owes its current appearance to alterations carried out in 1833 and c. 1887. The original chapel on the site was recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (1832) which depicted it as a simple rectangular-shaped structure which was aligned along an East-West axis. The contemporary Townland Valuations (c. 1830) set the value of the Roman Catholic Chapel at £10 and 13 shillings (exempt from taxation). In 1835 the Ordnance Survey Memoirs remarked that the chapel had only recently been enlarged and described it as ‘a handsome building adorned with light and tasteful pinnacles’ (OSM; UAHS Guide, p. 54).

The second edition Ordnance Survey map (1857) shows that the enlargement of 1833 resulted in the addition of transepts and a nave, giving the chapel a cruciform appearance. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859) increased the value of the building to £17 and recorded that the chapel had been constructed on land leased by a Mr. John McGilloway. There was little alteration to the layout of the chapel until c. 1887 when the building underwent a second alteration. In that year the value of the church was increased to £19 by the Annual Revisions. The UAHS Guide suggests that the alteration included the addition of the front entrance porch (now obscured by a mid-20th century addition) and the construction of the church belfry. The value of the building was increased to £85 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which recorded that the chapel was known as Ballyvoy Roman Catholic Church at that time. Field inspection of the site, carried out as part of the Second Survey, has found that the current vestibule extension was added to front elevation in c. 1965; this extension obscures the original façade of the building which remains behind. As a result of this addition the value of the church was further raised to £68 by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72).

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church was listed in 1980. The NIEA HB Records note that the church possesses a number of stained glass windows depicting Biblical and Celtic themes; for these windows, neither the date of construction nor the glazier is known. The church underwent a renovation in c. 1995 which included general repairs and alterations to the listed building (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/9/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/9/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/9/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903-04)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/9/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1922-31)
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/9 – Townland Valuation Map (c. 1832)
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/133 – Townland Valuations (c. 1830)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/27A – Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/11A-F – Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
9. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/5 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
10. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/11 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
11. Ordnance Survey Memoirs; Co. Antrim (1835)
12. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918)
13. First Survey Record – HB05/04/019 (1972)
14. NIEA HB Records – HB05/04/019

Secondary Sources
1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Gothic Revival-style Roman Catholic Church, located on an elevated site and set back on the north side of Cushendall Road in Ballyvoy behind decorative wrought-iron gates on rendered piers and flanked by curved walls. The church grounds include a graveyard which pre-dates the church. Originally constructed c.1800, the church owes its current appearance to alterations carried out in 1833 and c. 1887. The enlargement of 1833 added transepts and a nave, giving the chapel a cruciform plan form, which survives today. Although a 1960s entrance bay addition obscures the original gabled front facade, this is still visible within the extension. Much historic detailing remains such as the octagonal sandstone ashlar piers rising above the roof line as tapered finials, however the pebbledash surface treatment detracts from the historic authenticity. Internally of note are the exposed stop-chamfered pine king trusses with iron tie-rods. The rural setting is enhanced from a social aspect with the historic presence of this early Roman Catholic Church.