St Colmans RC Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Cruciform church with main entrance on front (N) gable facing to Longstone Road. To rear (S) of church is graveyard with parochial house and free standing bell tower at east (HB16/09/016B).

Cruciform natural slate roof with raise moulded concrete coped skews and knee stones to all gables. Front gable has a wrought iron Celtic cross finial. Boxed overhanging timber eaves carry half-round metal rainwater goods (all modern). Stone walls are rendered in slightly textured unpainted cement.

To centre of N gable is the main entrance contained within a slightly advanced cement-rendered gabled door surround which has an advanced base, instepped jambs, moulded kneelers, moulded concrete coping and cross finial. The Gothic headed opening has chamfered reveals and a labelled hood mould. Door is diagonally sheeted varnished timber with decorative iron strap hinges and cable twist door pull. Aligned above the opening are three stained glass lancet windows (central one taller), all with chamfered reveals, splayed cills and a common labelled hood mould.

Left (E) wall and right (W) wall of nave each have four lancet windows with splayed reveals and cills. The north-most windows on each side have cast iron lattice frames; the others have stained glass.

Transept runs E/W. The N face of the each transept has door (as that to main entrance) with plain surround. Their W and E gables are identical - each has three lancet windows with a taller central one (all plain quarries) and with splayed surrounds. S face of E transept has a single stained glass lancet window; the S face of W transept is abutted by the sacristy (see later).

S gable of church advances slightly beyond the transepts. Its gable end has three lancet windows in plain surrounds and with stained glass. Its E cheek has a wall mounted Neo-classical memorial dedicated to Rev John Gribbin (died 1864). Its W cheek (and S face of the W transept) are abutted by the Sacristy.

The sacristy has a pitched natural slate roof; raised verge to exposed gable, embattled coped parapet and concrete cross finial. Walls are as main church. Its S gable has two lancets in splayed reveals and with cement rendered architraves. To its E elevation is a small projecting porch with sheeted timber door on its S face and small leaded window on its E face.

Setting

A short driveway from Longstone Road accesses church. The churchyard is enclosed by a rubble stone wall which is cement rendered and coped to front and has a granite plaque inscribed “BARNMEEN/ NATIONAL SCHOOL/ 1834” built into its outside face at road junction. To main road is a pair of modern iron gates on plain piers. To the W is a 19thC wrought-iron pedestrian gate with dog bars and cast finials. Churchyard to front is a grassed and has shade trees. To rear is a graveyard containing mainly 19thC memorials; the earliest legible one is dated 1812.

At rear left is a two-storey parochial house of little architectural interest (artificial slate roof, smooth cement rendered walls, modern uPVC windows).

Historical information

This church is one of the oldest in the Diocese of Dromore, established in 1760. The Commemorative booklet states that it was built in 1760 by the Rev Thomas Digenan PP. Transepts were added in 1820 by the Rev Fergus Rooney PP, thus producing the T- Plan layout. The adjacent free standing bell was erected in 1914. The sacristy was built in 1932 by the Very Rev James Gallery PP. The church was re-constructed, re-roofed and central heating installed in 1957 by Rev James Canon McCrorry PP. The sanctuary and high altar of 1905 was remodelled by Rev Canon Patrick McAnuff in the 1980's to comply with the requirements of Vatican 2.

The original church was built with the assistance of the Seneschal (similar to modern day magistrate) , Captain Kerr of Rathfriland.

It is shown as a T-plan building on the 1833 OS 6” map and captioned “RC Chapel”. The Ordnance Survey Memoir of the following year notes its capacity as about 600 people. The adjoining schoolhouse was constructed in 1834.

Since the date of the Second Survey the church has again been refurbished in 2010.

The Barnmeen Martyrs were six young Roman Catholic men who were executed in the 1820s following the murder of an Orangeman. A group of men had set upon the Orangeman when he passed them shouting sectarian abuse. Not knowing the identity of the man who dealt the fatal blow the authorities rounded up all the young men in the district. Six were executed at Downpatrick and twenty were transported to Van Deimans Land (Tasmania) in Australia.

Primary sources:

1. OS 6" map, 1st edition (1833) Co Down sheet 41 (PRONI OS 6/3/41/1)
2. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Drumgath Parish (1834).

Secndary Sources:
1. Information from Fr G. Powell P.P.
2. The Story of Drumgarth - Commemorative Booklet on Occasion of Bicentenary of the Parish Church St Colman's Barnmeen - 1960

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This rural church, the core of which dates to the 18thC, is of interest as an early catholic church which developed in to a T- plan layout in 1820. However, whilst the plan form remains largely unchanged from this date the detailing and finishes both externally and internally have been altered substantially during the twentieth century. As a result the building has lost some character and is not of special architectural or historic interest, but is of interest to the local community.