St Patricks RC Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small cruciform church on E side of Drumlough Road with graveyard and former school to rear.

Cruciform artificial slate roof with coped skews, moulded kneelers and finial cross (all in granite) to each gable. Slightly advanced rendered eaves course (with modern timber board) carries half-round metal rainwater goods. All walls are cement dashed and painted.

Principal elevation faces W. W-facing nave at centre contains entrance door in gable. Gothic-headed opening with splayed deep reveals and painted labelled hood mould over. Contains a pair of t+g sheeted framed doors with brass knob. Aligned above entrance is a circular finely dressed granite plaque with quatrefoil inset with moulded hood mould over inscribed “Deo/ optma asuoinvocatione/ St PATRICII/ MDCCCLXV”. Flanking both sides of entrance is a narrow lancet with splayed granite cill (nearly flush with wall) and splayed reveals. Left (N) and right (S) cheeks have two similar lancets.

Transept runs N-S. Walls as others but with advanced base course. North gable of north transept has three lancets – (central one taller) dressed as those to nave. West elevation of north transept is blank; evidence of Gothic-headed doorway now rendered over. Its E elevation has single lancet (as others).

E facing gable of nave has three lancets (as N and S gables). Its N cheek is blank. Its S cheek is completely abutted by a single storey lean-to sacristy, which wraps around and extends beyond the gable of the S transept (see later). Lean-to has artificial slate roof with boxed eaves board and half-round metal rainwater goods. Window to E face is a modern top-hung stained timber casement window with painted concrete cill. Left (S) projecting cheek of lean-to has narrow similar window. Its W face contains the entrance door – a modern stained timber and glazed door with matching side light to right.

S transept has three lancets with granite cill to gable as others. W elevation has modern pair of t+g sheeted doors in a Gothic headed opening with splayed reveals.

Setting

Modern cement rendered wall and galvanised metal railings to road enclosing tarmac front and side yard. Modern cement-rendered retaining wall to rear (S) with steps up to graveyard. Most memorials are late 19thC with one (with three crucifixes) dating from 1840 (McGivern).

To immediate SW of church is former schoolhouse. Pitched natural slate roof with lined cement rendered walls and modern plastic windows (of no interest). Wooden plaque on NW gable reads ‘Lurgancahone Primary School’.

Historical information

Shown on the 1834 OS 6” map as a rectangular building captioned “RC Chapel”. The Ordnance Survey Memoir of the same year notes it as “lately built” and capable of holding 300 people. It is described in the first valuation book as measuring 67ft x 26ft by 14ft high. The same footprint is shown on the 1860 OS 6” map. The 1865 datestone above the entrance presumably relates to the addition of the new nave which projects towards the road.

Primary sources:
1. OS 6" map, 1st edition (1834) Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/1)
2. OS 6" map, 2nd edition (1860) Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/2)
3. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Drumgath Parish (1834).
4. PRONI First valuation book, VAL 1B/358A, p.102.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This small rural church retains few original features, and although of some local interest, is not of special architectural or historic interest.