Warrenpoint Parish Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Early 19thC cruciform plan church with tower to front gable, set in churchyard on N side of Church street.

Tower is three-staged with corner buttresses rising to base of third stage. Walls are line rendered with a chamfered base course. Buttresses have pitched granite copings between stages and a two-stage base course. Stepped quoins to upper section of third stage. Moulded string courses level with first and second stage of the buttresses, a third between second and third stage, and a fourth to upper section of third stage.

Right (SE) face of the tower contains the main entrance at first stage (ground floor). It consists of a finely dressed coved doorcase with depressed Gothic head and hood mould over. Contained within it is a pair of t+g sheeted doors with Gothic strap hinges, escutcheon and door pull. Over is an infilled transom (probably once glazed). Concrete step to threshold. Between first and second stage is a flush shield-shaped granite plaque reading “THIS CHAPEL/ WAS ENDOWNED/ BY REV/ JOHN DAVIS/ 1825”. Second stage of tower has a lancet window with chamfered granite architrave and cast-iron quarry framed glazing. The third stage is the belfry and has a large Gothic opening with chamfered granite architrave and rendered head containing two cusped lancets with a quatrefoil in their common spandrel. Filled with scalloped timber louvres.

Tower roof is flat with an over hanging roof (with rendered or concrete edge) and over which is a stepped and embattled ashlar granite parapet with octagonal corner pinnacles.

Front (SW) face of tower. Its first stage has a Gothic window (detailed as that to belfry but narrower) with rendered hood mould continuing to left and right buttresses as string course. Second stage has a modern circular clock face (with Roman numerals) set in a circular recess. The string course at this level rises over it as a hood mould. Third stage of tower (belfry) is as SE elevation.

Left (NW) elevation of tower is blank to first and second stages. The belfry is detailed as before. Below its opening are three advanced rendered roundel panels.

The rear (NE) elevation of the tower is abutted at first and second stage level by SW gable of the nave. Its exposed third (belfry) stage is as the others.

Church has a pitched natural slate roof with slightly lower ridge level to the transepts. Half-round metal gutters on advanced granite eaves. Matching granite skews to each gable. All walls are cement wet dashed. Each corner has a two-staged angled buttress in ashlar granite.

Front (SW) gable of church is abutted to centre by the tower. Exposed walling to each side is blank with a smooth base course and platband (which returns around from eaves line of side walls).

Only the windows to SE side of church have hood moulds. Each side wall of nave has three lancet windows. These are detailed as the window on front face of the first stage of the tower. There is a similar lancet to the front (SW) facing wall of each transept. The angle between SW wall of the transept and the NW wall of the nave has a small single storey porch with monopitched artificial slate roof (sloping from nave) with skews. Its eaves and walls are as main block. Its right (SW) facing cheek has a four-panelled door with bolection mouldings and a narrow transom over, all set within a finely dressed granite surround with a shouldered head. Left (NW) cheek of the porch has a single lancet window with cast-iron quarry glazing; to its right, on corner is single–staged buttress (not angled) .

The gable of the NW transept has a large Gothic window with granite architrave, inserted into which are three Y-tracery lancets. In gable over is a blind Gothic trefoil.

Rear elevation (NE) of this transept is blank and abutted by the single storey vestry which also abuts the NW cheek of the chancel (also blank).

Vestry has a pitched natural slate roof which ties into rear pitch transept but has a lower eaves level. Its end gable faces NE. Detailed as church but with irregular stepped granite quoins and no buttresses. Its gable has three lancet windows with cast-iron quarry glazing, grouped together under a common granite hood mould. Its NW cheek has a modern timber door to right-hand side with infilled gothic fanlight set in a dressed granite architrave. To its left is a pair of small lancet lights with cast-iron quarry glazing, all in a dressed granite architrave. Its SE cheek abuts the chancel.

Chancel has a steeply pitched natural slate roof which is steeper than the gable of the nave roof. The rear gable of the nave has granite skews and a small granite chimney pot (serving vestry) finial.

The chancel roof has granite skews and its eaves have exposed timber rafter tails. Walls are as the main church with matching buttresses to its end (NE) gable. This gable has a large Gothic window containing three cusped lancets, with three multi-foil rose windows in the head above. Sandstone mullions and leaded lights.

Left (SE) cheek of the chancel is blank and abutted almost completely by the organ room. Organ room also abuts the NE elevation of the SE transept (also blank). It is detailed as chancel but is lower and narrower, with no buttresses. Its end (NE) gable has a single lancet window with granite dressed architrave and hood mould. Its left (SE) cheek is blank.

The rear NE wall of the SE transept is blank.

The SE gable of the SE transept has a large Gothic window with granite architrave, inset are three Y-tracery lancets. In gable over is a blind Gothic trefoil; sandstone hood mould.

SETTING

The church is set back from the street within a linear rectangular plot which backs on to Summer Hill.

Boundary to Church Street is enclosed by an ashlar granite dwarf wall with chamfered coping carrying decorative cast-iron railings terminated to both ends by a granite pier. Similar piers to centre support a pair of gates. The piers, which are also of ashlar granite, are square in section with a chamfered base course, shallow gabled coping and cast-iron finial. Railings are in Gothic style and comprise a quatrefoil repeat bottom frieze (which forms the top of the dog bars on the gates), Gothic cusped tracery arches spanning the top of each bar, and spearhead finials. The dog bars of the gates have decorative Gothic tracery arches each crowned by a spearhead finial.

Front of church has a driveway and the sides are landscaped with shrubs and trimmed bushes. To rear is an avenue to Summer Hill flanked by attractive mature beech trees. Its rear boundary has an irregularly coped rubble granite wall with gates to centre.

Historical information

This church was constructed to serve as a chapel of ease to Clonallan (HB16/12/015) in 1825. It then comprised a rectangular block measuring 68ft by 28ft in plan and had a tower. The site was donated by the Hall family of Narrow Water Castle. The original church was built for the sum of c.£850. The gallery was erected in 1840 by the Hall family for their own use. The transepts were in place by 1861.

This church is shown on a later 19thC Lawrence photograph: it has plain rendered walls and the W end of the nave has angled two-stage buttresses. The tower is three stages, with platband between each and an embattled parapet. The first stage is tall with a leaded Y tracery lancet window. The second stage is the shortest and contains a circular clock face. The third stage is the belfry with hood moulded Y tracery lancet with louvres. The parapet is embattled and each corner has a panelled plinth supporting plain square pinnacles. The church railings and gates are those presently existing.

A new bell, weighing 18cwt was purchased from Messrs Murphy & Co Dublin; it was dedicated on 12 May 1898 and the bell is inscribed “TO GOD’S GLORY WARREN-/ POINT CHURCH 1898/ RECTOR THOMAS B. NAYLOR/ D.D/ CHURCH WARDENS JOSEPH MAYNE J.P./ THOMAS BOND”. The old bell was left in the tower as it had been a gift from the Hall family but was eventually broken up, recast, and donated to Newcastle Parish Church.

Substantial improvements were also carried out at this time, entailing the addition of a chancel and new roof to the nave and transepts; the tower was also remodelled. The refurbishment was supervised by the architect W. J. Watson and cost £1,130, The church reopened in 1890, the Irish Builder of that year noting: “ after sundry improvements and the addition of a chancel. In place of the old roof with its groined ceiling, a new one of a high pitch has been substituted. It is supported by three principals, with semicircular tracery ribs carrying folded purlins and V-jointed sheeting … all the old timber windows have been removed and the openings filled in with freestone mullioned and traceried windows.”

A 1920s photograph in the Green Collection shows the church after this work. It is much more ornate than at present with three roundel vents below the belfry on the front of the tower, further roundels in the belfry spandrels and a fretted traceried parapet with stouter octagonal pinnacles.

In 1900 the church received a font, the gift of Rev. W.W. Williams, Archdeacon of Madras, in memory of his wife Jane Williams. It was originally in the central aisle. The pulpit cost £70 in 1909, and at the same time the windows in the chancel were installed by Captain R. Hall. In 1920 the marble chancel steps were provided as a WW1 memorial. The mosaic chancel floor was laid in 1921. Green’s photograph shows elaborate wall paintings to the left and right cheeks of the chancel walls. Electric lighting was installed in 1934. The clock was electrified in 1969 and no longer strikes the hour.

Primary Sources:
1. Ordnance Survey Memoir, Warrenpoint Parish (1836).
2. OS town map, 1861 (PRONI, VAL/12E/127/1/5).
3. Lawrence photograph, no.1274 (National Library of Ireland).
4. Green photograph, no.WAG323 (Ulster Folk & Transport Museum).
5. Early 20thC photograph in Vestry showing chancel interior.

Secondary Sources:
1. Warrenpoint Historical Society Magazine, vol.16 (Autumn 1990).
2. Warrenpoint Historical Society Magazine, vol.17 (Spring 1991).
3. ‘Warrenpoint Parish Church’, in The Irish Builder (July 15, 1890), p.166.
4. W. H. Carson ‘Historic Clocks of Down, Warrenpoint Parish Church’, in Mourne Observer (Newcastle 1980).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Although the exterior of this church is plain, its interior is impressive and all features, including the later 19thC ones, are of good quality. It has an elaborate timber roof structure, numerous fine marble memorials, good stained glass windows and relatively rare wall paintings to its chancel.