St. Mary's Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A plain double-height rendered Roman Catholic church, dated 1882, located on the north side of Crockanboy Road, Rousky. The church is T-shaped on plan with an additional gabled projection to south, resulting in a truncated cruciform effect; lean-to to north-east.

Roof is pitched replacement natural slate with crested terracotta ridge tiles and filigree Celtic cross finials to each gable (that to south is more ornate). Rainwater goods are half-round aluminium. Walling is painted rendered with projecting plinth to north, east and part of south wall, remainder painted. Windows are diamond lattice lancets having some coloured glass and secondary glazing; painted stone sills and painted surrounds. Doors are replacement hardwood sheeted.

South (road-facing) elevation consists of three windows to either side of the gabled projection, which is two-window-wide. Marble datestone inset to gable reads ‘Erected / by / Revd. Bernard O’Neill / A.D. 1800 / Rebuilt / by /Revd. Peter McGeown.P.P. / A.D.1882’. Loudspeaker inset to roundel at apex (to all gables).

West gable has double-leaf door with painted holy-water font set to wall at right, surmounted by gothic window.

North elevation is blank with the exception of gabled projection at centre, which contains a gothic window to upper level and a diminished lancet to ground floor left; there is a double-leaf door to right cheek. Projection is abutted to left re-entrant angle by a lean-to extension, modern and of no interest.

East gable is detailed as west.

Setting:-
The church is set in a churchyard which slopes upwards to north and contains a variety of grave markers (earliest noted from 1824, but majority late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century). The church is bounded to the road by a painted roughcast retaining boundary wall, with pedestrian access via a concrete path to centre accessed by a pair of decorative cast-iron gates with Cross finial supported on square piers of painted squared rubble stone with brick quoins; vehicular access at right via mild steel gates. Concrete perimeter paths.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Rendered
Windows: Diamond lattice
RWG: Aluminium.

Historical information

The church appears as a simple rectangular structure on the first and second editions of the Ordnance Survey Map in 1834 and 1854, respectively, captioned “R C Chap” and “Burying Ground.”

By the third edition of the OS Map in 1908 the church appears as at present with additions to the north and south and is captioned “St Mary’s R C Church,” with a “Grave Yard” and “Parochial House” also captioned.

Townland Valuation Records (1828-40) record a ‘Roman Catholic Chapel’ valued at £5 10s 0d. Griffith’s Valuation (1856-1864) records “R.C. Chapel and yard,” valued under exemptions at £10.10s for the chapel and 10s. for the yard. ~There are no changes in revisions, other than an entry for 1881 “Stable and car ho. built by congregation for convenience of those attending worship.” This adds 10s to the value of the buildings.

Rev Kieran Devlin proposes in “Meetings and Memories in Lower Badoney” that the original church may date from around 1750 when some tolerance was beginning to be extended to Catholic worship. Local tradition states that the local landlord (Cole-Hamilton) allowed a church to be built as long as it was not visible from the river, the mountain or from Beltrim demesne – conditions fulfilled by St Mary’s. A note in the parish archives reads that the church was founded by Fr O’Neill who obtained the site from Billy Tagart to build a stable for his horse. Devlin claims that the small church was extended in 1800 in the time of Father Bernard O’Neill and given height and galleries in 1882 in the time of Fr Peter McGeown (plaque on front of church) When the plaster was removed during a recent renovation, it was clear that in places the stone was of poor quality for building. When the building was raised in height in 1882, the new wall was simply built on top of the old, resulting in a band of smaller stones in the middle of the wall in places “just the sort of stone one might gather for a ditch”, although in places the walls are brick-built. They have no foundation, except for those of the new sacristy, and rest on top of the ground, being stabilised by the re-inforced plinth constructed in Fr O’Loughlin’s time in 1958. Originally the church had a clay floor and was without seats until 1906. There are three galleries at different heights. Within living memory there were also three levels in the floor with a step down in front of the women’s aisle gallery and a further step down in front of the men’s aisle gallery. The level of the graveyard against the rear wall of the church was high enough to allow one almost to touch the aisle gallery window. The height of this graveyard accounts for the awkward placing today of the holy water font outside the ‘aisle’ doorway. Local tradition has it that the burial ground was used in early times by both Catholic and Protestant. In the 1950’s a new level wooden floor was installed and a passageway with retaining wall was dug round the church. The original wooden altar was replaced with one of green and white marble. Fr James McGonagle CC changed the altar to ‘face the people’ and at that time a new set of stations of the cross was installed. Further restoration took place in the 1990s. The building was reslated and a new sacristy was built and the boiler was moved inside the building. New doors, confessional room, fronts to the galleries and new sanctuary furniture including a carved Austrian altar frontal, and a new cross with carved figures, all of wood. The architect of this restoration was Gerard Loughrey of Loughrey, Agnew, Derry and the contractor Gerard Brogan.

“The oddities of the way Rouskey has grown since its early days and the sense of generations who came there to pray give it a character and a patina which are unique, while the charm of its peaceful simplicity make it seem always fresh.” (p.34)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/19/1-First Edition OS Map (1834)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/19/2-Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/19/3-Third Edition OS Map (1908)
4. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/19 – Townland Valuation Map(1828-40)
5. PRONI VAL/1/B/643 – Townland Valuation Records (1828-40)
6. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/19 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64)
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/45B – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/39/1A-E – Annual Revision Records (1860-1929)

Secondary Sources:

1. Gortin and District Historical Society “Meetings and Memories in Lower Badoney” Omagh: S. D. Montgomery Ltd.

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 plain double-height rendered Roman Catholic church, dated 1882. Its plain character, interesting king post trusses, and the survival of the T-plan, which is characteristic of rural vernacular churches, are of note. Although the church has lost some original fabric and detailing, such as the verges and kneelers to the exterior and the refurbishment of the interior, it is of special architectural and historic interest as a good example of the type.