Roman Catholic Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached double-height Roman Catholic Church, built 1901 to designs by Charles A Owen, located to the south side of Donaghanie Road, within the grounds of Fermanagh and Tyrone Hospital. Church consists of rectangular nave, single-storey gabled porch to north-east and single-storey gabled sacristy to west.

Roof is pitched natural slate; terracotta ridge tiles; raised sandstone verges on corbelled kneelers; chimney-stacks to gables. Walls are squared-and-snecked rockfaced basalt over stepped plinth; buttresses with offsets; sandstone quoins. Windows are square-headed tripartite with sandstone mullions and transoms containing leaded stained lattice lights in stepped sandstone surrounds; segmental-headed voussoirs.

Principal elevation faces east and contains large gothic tracery window surmounted by hood moulding with label-stop and rubble voussoirs.

South elevation is five windows wide, each separated by buttress.

West elevation is abutted at ground floor by sacristy containing pair of square-headed windows; north and south gables each contain gothic double-leaf vertically sheeted entrance doors in stepped sandstone surround surmounted by hood moulding with stop-ends; blind gothic opening to apex; exposed gable contains pair of gothic windows.

North elevation is five windows wide; abutted at left by porch; to west, square-headed window surmounted by blind gothic opening to apex; to east, gothic double-leaf vertically sheeted entrance doors with leaded stained glass panels in stepped sandstone surround surmounted by hood moulding with stop-ends; blind gothic opening to apex; accessed by six concrete steps enclosed by rubble plinth wall.

Setting:-
Set within the grounds of Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital (HB11/15/004A) to the south of the main hospital block. Several structures of note within the extensive grounds include the gatelodge (HB11.15.004B), the Church of Ireland (HB11.15.004D) and a concrete water tower (HB11.15.004E).

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Basalt
Windows: Stained glass
RWG: Cast aluminium

Historical information

The Roman Catholic Chapel at Tyrone & Fermanagh Hospital was built between 1900 and 1901 to designs by C. A. Owen. It first appears on the third edition of the OS Map in 1906. In design appearance, it is very similar to the Protestant church at that hospital, which was built two years later to designs by the same architect. Owen also built the New County Infirmary
( Ward 14, 1895-1899) in the hospital complex. (Rowan, p.447).

The church is part of the large hospital complex, which began with the main block that was built between 1847-1853 to designs by William Farrell. This was one of the second series of asylums erected by the Irish Board of Works at a cost of £35,000, designed for 300 patients. (Rowan, p.447).

Attached to the rear of the hospital was an interdenominational chapel, now the old chapel, which could serve 130 worshippers, and this is likely to have been erected when the architect George Boyd greatly extended the hospital in the late 1860s after the number of patients approached 300.

Following an increase in patients during the latter part of the nineteenth century, a new chapel was advised in the grounds at a cost of £1,200 in addition to the one “in the building [that] served all classes,” as early as 1894. Following the completion of the Catholic chapel and Protestant church, this old interdenominational chapel was subdivided and converted into dormitory use.

The chapel was “paid by measurement,” and designed to serve 340 patients. Later in 1905, a gallery was added that accommodated an additional 110 patients. The builder was Joseph Colhoun of Derry (McKinley p.71). Colhoun, who also built other Omagh landmarks, such as Sacred Heart R.C. Church (HB11/11/001A), St. Lucia’s Barracks (HB11/09/005A, C and D) and First Presbyterian Church (HB11/13/011), later died in this hospital (Mitchell, p.160).

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/35/1-3 -First Edition OS Map (1906)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/35/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/35/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1906)
4. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/35 -Townland Valuation Map(1828-40)
5. PRONI VAL/1/B/645A&B -Townland Valuation Records (1828-40)
6. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/35 -Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/47A -Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/41/26A-F -Annual Revision Records (1860-1923)

Secondary Sources

1. Rowan, Alistair. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.
2. McKinley, Robert. “Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital: A Chronological History” in Haldane Mitchell, ed. Images of Omagh and District. Vol. 7. Omagh: Rotary Club of Omagh, 1999, pp64-83.
3. Mitchell, Haldane, Ed. Images of Omagh and District. Vol. 7. Omagh: Rotary Club of Omagh, 1999.

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

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

Evaluation

Detached double-height Roman Catholic Church, built 1901 to designs by Charles A Owen. This single-cell church is plainly detailed with simple sandstone decoration. Although constructed some time later than the main hospital building, has been designed to complement the original buildings and represents the work of a noteworthy architect who was involved with other works on the site and with the neighbouring County Infirmary, as well as with asylums elsewhere in Ireland. The complex, including the main hospital building (HB11/15/004A), gate lodge (HB11/15/004B) and Church of Ireland (HB11/15/004D), represents a significant phase in the history of such institutions.

General comments

This record has been renumbered as part of a group - previously HB11/15/006