Our Lady of Lourdes (RC) Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Hiberno-Romanesque style church, with round tower to right side of north facing façade. Aligned N-S on south side of Lurganconary Road.

Pitched natural slate roof with decorative black clay ridges. Cast iron ogee gutters with box section downpipes. Walls are random rock-faced granite blocks with chamfered basecourse and corbel-table to eaves and some smooth dressed detailing.

Façade gable has a moulded granite coping and is topped by a Celtic cross finial. This elevation has a recessed main panel, framed to left and right by advanced piers that continue up each side of gable as a stepped corbel-table. The wall panel is framed below by a canted flush ashlar cill course that crosses façade at spring of arch level of main entrance.

Main entrance at ground floor centre consists of a single concrete step rising to a pair of framed and sheeted stained timber leaves with decorative strap hinges. These are recessed within a semicircular-headed Romanesque style doorway in ashlar granite. Inset into each jamb of the doorway is a polished pink granite colonette with moulded granite base and simple Romanesque capital. These support the moulded voussoired head of the doorway, which is decorated with a granite hood and plain cuboid label-stops. Framing the head of the doorway is a decorative gable that sits slightly proud of the façade. It is granite coped, has a shamrock finial, a plain roundel in gable and knee-stones. Attached to apex is a modern light fitting.

To left and right of the main entrance, (level with arch crown), is a single small semicircular headed stained glass Romanesque style window with fielded arris, double voussoired head and canted flush cill. All windows are similarly detailed unless otherwise stated.

Centred over entrance gable are three large tall windows, with central one taller and slightly wider. In gable over is a small circular louvred vent.

Tower abuts the right corner pier of façade. It is in four stages, with bottom stage tallest and each one above diminishing slightly in height and diameter. Its walls are as façade, with a similar basecourse. Between each stage is a canted ashlar plat-band. First stage has a small window to façade and one slightly higher on its right side. Second stage (which rises above eaves level of main block) has four small windows, one to each compass point. These have one-piece lintels with their heads etched out of the block (as opposedto double voussoirs as those previous). Third stage steps in slightly and is similarly detailed.

Fourth stage of tower is the belfry. It has a single Romanesque style opening on each compass point. Each has a demi-colonette to its reveals, with a cushion-moulded capital to each. On the remaining wall between these is a recessed wall panel with a semicircular head springing from the same height as the colonette capitals. Over is a cavetto moulded eaves course and rising above is the conical ashlar granite roof, eight courses, each slightly raised, and topped with a small ball-finial supporting a cross.

Side elevations of main block are as façade with a moulded basecourse and corbel-table to eaves. Each is made up of six similar bays. A typical bay has a central panels recessed between piers. Each panel contains a pair of tall windows.

The left elevation of main block is six bays wide, abutted to left one by the sacristy and remainder are as described above.

On the right elevation the fourth bay from the left is abutted by a porch, but retains the corbelled eaves. The porch has a pitched natural slate roof detailed as main roof with raised and coped parapet and Celtic cross finial. Walls are as main block and it has two tall windows, between which is an ashlar granite plaque incised, “THIS STONE WAS LAID BY / MOST REV JOSEPH McRORY D.D. / BISHOP OF DOWN AND CONNOR / ON 2ND NOV. 1924. / VERY REV. BERNARD LAVERTY V.F. / BEING THEN P.P. OF UPPER MOURNE”

The south wall (right cheek) of porch is blank. Its north wall (left cheek) has a modern brick ramp, with modern metal handrail leading to a pair of doors. Doors are framed and sheeted stained timber with strap hinges and share a shouldered head. Ashlar granite reveal is stop-end chamfered as is head.

The rear gable of church is abutted by the sanctuary, which shares main roof but is narrower. Exposed gable of main block has raised parapet and walls are blank. Sanctuary walls are as others but with higher eaves and plain eaves brackets. Its gable end is raised and coped and has a Celtic cross finial. High up on the gable is a pair of tall stained glass Romanesque style windows with infilled circular vent over. To left and right cheeks, close to eaves, is a single small Romanesque window. On right cheek, to right of window, is an ashlar granite chimney rising from eaves. Below this window, sanctuary is abutted by a sacristy, which also abuts the left bay of the left elevation of the main block.

Sacristy has a lean-to natural slate roof and walls as façade. Its rear gable has two 1/1 sliding sash windows with canted flush cills and flat heads. Its face (to east) has three similar windows and a flight of basement steps (enclosed by a coped granite wall) with modern door and blocked up window at bottom. Its front gable (north facing) contains a doorway. Door is dressed as that to the porch.

Setting
To rear right is a modern granite grotto with statues of St Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. Site is bounded to rear and sides by hedges. A dashed wall with plain modern railings and a concave central gate screen encloses the northern boundary. Terminating either end and framing the gates are ashlar piers with segmental copings, each face of which is incised with a Maltese cross.

Historical information

Foundation stone laid in November 1924 and completed church dedicated in August 1926. An illustration of Ballyclare Catholic Church shows it to be almost identical to this building.

Primary Sources:
1. Datestone in church.

Secondary Sources:
1. C. Bradley (n.d), ‘Histories of the parishes: 6’, (The Irish Weekly, date unknown).
2. ‘Historic Buildings in the Mourne Area of South Down’ (UAHS 1975), p.62.
3. D. Evans ‘The Diamond as Big as a Square, An introduction to the towns and buildings of Ulster’ (UAHS 1981), p.18.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This building is a good example of its type but relatively late and not of of special architectural or historic interest.