St Lawrence's Roman Catholic Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached double-height Gothic Revival Roman Catholic Church, built 1841, located to the north side of Lisdergan Road. Church consists of rectangular nave with chancel to east; gabled porch to south (dated 1925) and square tower to west; two-storey roughcast lean-to extension to north; single-storey flat-roofed extension to east (dated 1996).

Roofs are pitched natural slate with blue/black clay ridge tiles; stone verges with stepped weathering on cavetto moulded kneelers; cross finial to E gable. Walls are squared-and-snecked sandstone with sandstone quoins over projecting plinth. Windows are gothic leaded stained glass in stepped sandstone surrounds with splayed sandstone sills.

Principal elevation faces west and is abutted at centre by square four-stage tower; exposed sections to left and right each contain single window. Tower contains gothic bead-moulded chamfered entrance with voussoirs containing double-leaf vertically sheeted timber doors; single square-headed window with gothic voussoirs to north and south; stage two contains narrow window; pair of narrow square-headed windows to north and south; stage three contains cinquefoil oculus; narrow square-headed window north and south; stage four contains pair of cusped gothic louvred openings to each elevation surmounted by crenellated parapet to squat square-based spire.

North elevation is five windows wide, abutted at centre by extension; exposed sections at left and right each contain two windows.

East elevation abutted at centre by double-height gabled chancel (parapet to corners) containing single tracery window surmounted by hood moulding with stop-ends; narrow square-headed louvred opening to apex; pair of elliptical-headed windows to north and south; exposed section contains trefoil oculus to apex; abutted at ground floor by extension.

South elevation is five windows wide abutted at left by gabled porch; Tudor-arched-headed rebated entrance with hood moulding containing double-leaf vertically sheeted timber doors; cusped gothic niche containing statue of St Lawrence supported on corbelled bracket (dated 1925) to apex; pair of elliptical-headed windows to east and west.

Setting

Rural location in churchyard; car park to east and west; garden to north-east. Bounded to Lisdergan road by rubble walling, accessed through set back entrance consisting of square sandstone pillars supporting cast-iron gates; stone urns to coping engraved ‘Revd Patrick Conlon, Parish Priest of Fintona’; connected by rendered plinth wall surmounted by cast-iron railings. Small grotto (1989) consisting of gabled rubble walling to north-west. Graveyard on elevated site to south.

Roof Natural slate
Walling sandstone
Windows leaded stained glass
RWG Cast-iron

Historical information

An RC Chapel is captioned on the Ordnance Survey map of 1833. The 1854 map shows a new church building on the same site. On the 1854 map a parochial house is also shown, uncaptioned. On the 1906 map the chapel is captioned ‘St Lawrence’s RC Church’ and the parochial house is also captioned.

The chapel is valued in the Townland Valuation Records at £7 6s 10d. Griffith’s Valuation lists the new church at a value of £31 0s 0d and this remains its valuation throughout revisions. In the 1877-81 revisions a grave yard is also recorded in the plot. In the 1897-1911 revisions the occupier becomes the Roman Catholic body and the church is leased from Amy McClintock.

The former chapel is mentioned several times in the OS Memoirs: “A Roman Catholic chapel in the townland of Ecclesville was built in 1780. It is a slated building without spire or steeple” (p.64) “The Roman Catholic chapel, situated in Ecclesville demesne and about half a mile from the town, will hold about 1,500 persons. [Insert note: The Roman Catholic chapel is numerously attended. The house is in a dilapidated state but collections are being made to erect a new one.]” (p.69)

A local history pamphlet, ‘Fintona and the Rare Oul’ Times’ states that ‘in 1823 there was an old thatched chapel where the present one is and it is to the entrance to this that the [present] gate pillars were erected in 1823 by Rev Patrick Conlon PP’ (p.28)

O Gallachair writes; “Fr James Kelly, PP completely rebuilt the old place of worship in 1839-41…It is possibly…the largest of its type in the diocese of Clogher, being 115 ft long by 51 ft 8 in wide. The roof over this span is carried on massive tie beams of memel, as sound today as they were when they the parishioners drew them by road from the port of Ballyshannon to Fintona. The building material used is a local red sandstone of an indifferent quality, but the masonry is exceptionally good. The tablet on the front of the church reads today: ‘Erected by Rev J Kelly, PP, Fintona 1841’…in 1872 Canon Cassidy erected the present, stately tower and spire…In…(1924-27) a complete renovation of this church with many extensions and new features added, after designs by Professor R M Butler, the architect, was successfully carried out by the zealous pastor (Canon Maguire) at a cost of £8,000. He has added at the eastern gable a beautiful new apse (extending seventeen feet beyond the gable of the church and enriched with a very fine stained-glass window) to receive the splendid new high altar in marble; a spacious sanctuary, twenty-six feet in depth, furnished with new, marble side-altars and enclosed by a new marble communion-rail, extending the full width of the church. He has provided new sacristies suitably furnished, a new porch [dated 1925] to the door towards the western end of the church, in which is erected the new marble baptistry. Through the bell-tower at the western gable a new entrance has been made, which is now the main entrance to the church.” (p.80-1)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/50/1-4 – Ordnance Survey maps (1833, 1854, 1906, 1936-8)
2. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/50 – Townland Valuation Map
3. PRONI VAL/1/B/63/A-B – Townland Valuation Records (1828-40)
4. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/51 – Griffith’s Valuation Map
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/3/A – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/41/23/A-F – Annual Revision Records (1860-1929)
7. Day, A an McWilliams, P ‘OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Tyrone I, 1821, 1823, 1833-36, Vol 5’ Institute of Irish Studies, 1990

Secondary Sources

1. Baxter, J and Fintona Development Assoc. ‘Fintona and the Rare Oul’ Times’ (n.d)
2. O Gallachair, P. ‘Old Fintona’, Cumann Seanchais Chlochair, 1974

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A detached double-height Gothic Revival Roman Catholic Church, built 1841. The main body of the church is simply detailed with interest provided through the tower and later addition porch which displays an ornate carved niche containing the statue of St Lawrence. The site has a long history and the building is a good example of a large rural church of robust character.