St Patricks RC Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large mid 19thC Gothic Revival basilica church set in an elevated graveyard on E side of Chapel Hill Road. Building is aligned W-E.

Nave has steeply pitched natural slate roof with Celtic cross finials, slightly raised skews and kneelers to gables. Ogee-moulded masonry eaves course supports modern metal box gutters. The lean-to roofs of the side aisles are similarly detailed but less steeply pitched. Walls are of dressed granite irregular blocks with finely dressed chamfer to rubble base course. All openings trimmed with stepped finely dressed sandstone.

Principal elevation faces W and contains the main entrance at centre. Accessed by three dressed granite steps is a pair of t+g sheeted doors with decorative strap hinges. They are set within Gothic headed doorway with chamfered two order reveal. Over is a hood mould with plain stops. Set in its right reveal is small brass plaque which reads, “St Patrick’s Church Mayobridge/ Erected by/ Fr John Brennan/ who died on 17.12.1868/ aged 50yrs/ foundation stone/ blessed by Dr Leahy Coadjutor of the / diocese/ on 15th August 1859/ The church was/ dedicated by/ Bishop Leahy/ on 12th October 1862”. A modern stone plaque with an identical inscription is set into the wall near the right corner.

Affixed to wall to either side of entrance are modern tubular metal handrails. Filling the front gable above the entrance, is a large Gothic arched sandstone panel containing a plate tracery window. It has three tall lancet windows (central one taller). All are stained and leaded with chamfered reveals and splayed cills. Set above the lancets are three roundels with similar reveals inset with cusped leaded lights. Common hood mould (as that to door below). In gable apex is a small cusped vent.

Flanking front gable, set back slightly, are the W ends of each side aisle. Each contains a plate tracery window comprising a pair of lancets with a roundel in their common spandrel. Lancets are similar in style to those in W gable.

N elevation of nave
This elevation is almost completely abutted at ground floor by the side aisle leaving only a narrow portion of wall exposed to the E (left) end which has a two-staged stepped buttress at left and a single lancet window at ground floor. At clerestory level, just below the eaves, are five cusped windows, roughly square in shape, containing modern leaded lights.

N side aisle
Its N facing wall has a base course which steps up to E (left) end. It is divided into five bays, each with a pair of leaded lancet windows, except for the fourth bay which contains a gabled porch. Porch has a steeply pitched natural slate roof with stone ridge and is partially tied into the aisle roof. Its end gable contains a doorway, which is identical to the main entrance (on W gable) but slightly smaller. Modern concrete wheelchair ramp up. The side elevations of the porch are both identical. Each has three small cusped windows (as clerestorey) with modern glazing. The left cheek of the N side aisle is identical to its right cheek, which was described with W gable main block (see above). The E (rear) gable of the nave has three tall lancet windows (central one taller) to centre, as those to front but without hood mould. Its wall tapers at bottom where the N and S buttresses abut.

S elevation of the main block is similar in all details to the N elevation. However the detail of the side aisle differs in several respects: The first (left) bay is abutted by a porch (as that to N elevation). The second, third and fourth bays have pairs of lancet windows (as N elevation). The fifth bay has an abutting sacristy.

Sacristy has steeply pitched roof which ties into the top of side aisle roof, but has a lower eaves level. It is detailed as the main block. Its S (end) gable is blank but for slightly advanced chimney breast which insteps two stages and rises to square section chimney with chamfered corners with moulded coping. Its W (left) elevation has three granite steps to a door at left. It is t+g sheeted with strap hinges and is set within an opening with a shouldered arch head and chamfered reveals. To its right is a single lancet window with leaded, coloured glazing. Below it is a flight of steps (enclosed by modern railings and trap door) leading to a basement boiler room. The E (right) elevation of the sacristy has two lancets detailed as the one on W elevation. Modern oil tank adjacent.

Setting
To rear left of church the site rises and a grotto is built into the bank. It is in quarry faced rubble granite with central niche which contains a statue of Mary with St Bernadette at her feet. In right corner is a finely dressed granite plaque which reads “Erected to Our Lady of Lourdes/ by the parishioners of Mayobridge/ in honour of the Marian Year 1987-88”.

On slope behind the grotto is a bell supported on a welded steel skeletal frame on a granite ashlar plinth. Bronze bell is engraved “Sheridan Eagle Foundry. In honorom beati pitritii cum funera/ aut beatam Mariam invoco vigil at orate/ com sabbato plango audite/ et ad sacaficium miss ae congreat 1866” and has makers mark “J O’Byrne Foundry, Dublin”. A wheel pulley operates. A bell with the same maker’s mark can be found at St Colman’s RC Church, Longstone Road, Rathfriland (HB16/09/016B).

The graveyard fills the N and S of the churchyard and has been further enlarged to S. It is bounded to E and S by large mature beech trees. Its N side has a plain (20thC) hall aligned N-S; of no interest. The memorials are a typical ranging from 19thC slate and dressed granite gravestones to modern polished gravestones. There are three notable exceptions:

1) A large Celtic cross on W side of N churchyard dedicated to Rose Loughran (died 1892). It stands on an inscribed chamfered three stage plinth and all its faces are decorated with carved early Christian repeat patterns with cable mouldings to the arris.

2) Bradley memorial (1868) is a tall finely dressed circular granite pillar on E side of S churchyard. It has a conical coping and projecting chamfered base. It has a raised inscribed crest on E side.

3) Moore memorial on the E side of the N churchyard. It is a roughly dressed stone with an incised cross and very irregular text stating “P C A K A / Moore/ Buley, RIP”.

Historical information

A building is marked ‘RC chapel’ on the 1834 OS 6” map where the present church hall now stands. The present church is shown on the 1860 edition. Its foundation stone had been laid on 15 August of the previous year and the building was completed in 1862.

The side altar of Christ after the crucifixion was formerly the centrepiece of the main altar in St Mary’s Church, Burren (HB16/11/026).

Primary Sources:
1. OS maps 1st edition (1834), Co Down sheet 47.
2. OS maps 2nd edition (1860), Co Down sheet 47.
3. Plaques on main entrance.

Secondary Sources
1) P. Keenan, ‘Clonallan Parish - its annals and antiquities’ (Newry 1942), p.26.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value
Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Not listed

Evaluation

This basilica plan church is designed in a severe early Gothic style and is built in local materials. It is set within an attractive tree lined churchyard which contains numerous 19thC memorials.

It has been radically altered internally.