St Colman's RC Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Cruciform 19thC Church on E side of Milltown Street, set within graveyard and bounded to E by the road.

Pitched natural slate roof. All gables are coped and have moulded kneelers. Large gabled open bellcote to top of E gable contains a bronze bell. W gable has a small chimney pot and N and S gables have cross finials. Modern timber eaves support half-round rainwater goods. All walls are pebbledashed and painted with a chamfered smooth basecourse in contrasting colour.

E gable has a pair of diagonally-sheeted timber doors with strap hinges forming the main entrance. They are set in a Gothic headed opening with key block and moulded rendered architraves inset with a granite block in middle of jambs inscribed with a Maltese cross. Two pink terrazzo steps up from path. To either side of entrance, rising from spring level of door arch, is a tall lancet window with narrow rendered architrave and cill, and leaded lights (with additional outer security glazing). All windows are as these unless otherwise stated. Centred in gable apex above door is a large statue of Our Lady standing on a moulded projecting canted plinth under a cusped and gabled canopy.

The N and S cheeks of the nave are identical – each has a single lancet window set to W end. E cheek of N transept has a similar lancet at left and door at right (as front door). The E cheek of the S transept is its mirror image.

N gable of N transept has two lancet windows. Its smooth base course steps up to W end in line with ground level.

The W elevation of the N transept is blank. Immediately in front of it is a small single storey toilet block with pitched artificial roof, boxed eaves and plain bargeboards. Half round metal gutters. Walls as main block. Two modern doors and small one-pane casement to W-facing gable. To left cheek is small window and to right cheek is door.

The W gable (sanctuary) advances from the transepts. The gable end has a large finely dressed granite rose window with rendered hood mould. It is partly abutted by the single storey sacristy. Each cheek has a small lancet set high up and lighting sanctuary.

Sacristy has a pitched natural slate roof which is hipped at join with church. Tiled skews. Walls as main block. Its W gable has a small, timber Y-tracery fixed lancet light at left, and a t+g sheeted door and a small 2x2 fixed paned window to right. Bootscraper to left of door. Left (N) cheek has modern, partly-louvred door.

Right cheek and right cheek of sanctuary are abutted by a flat roofed extension to the sanctuary (it also partly abuts W wall of S transept). This extension has a felt roof and line rendered walls. Its W elevation has a modern four paned fixed window with external bars and concrete cill. The right (S) cheek has two 2/2 sliding sashes (vertically divided) with cills and external bars.

The W wall of the S transept is blank.

The S gable of the S transept is as the N gable of the N transept.

Setting:

Graveyard contains various memorials. Mostly in slate or granite and of early-mid 19thC date. To N of main entrance is a granite chest-tomb on a plinth. Cruciform in plan with gabled ends and copings. Its plaque (probably metal) has been removed from E end. Many of the later 19thC memorials are granite Celtic crosses. There is a granite rubble grotto to NW corner, and a modern parochial house to W.

A roughly dressed and strap pointed granite block wall with chamfered granite coping encloses main road boundary. At main entrance two gabled gate piers flank a wide opening containing a pair of post-war gates, railings and flanking narrower gates (all with inset motifs) Steps and ramping pathways rise to main entrance. Path around church.

Historical information

Consecrated in 1833 following its instigation in 1829 by P.P. Rev Peter Murphy. The land on which it was erected was donated by Roger Hall of Narrow Water Castle. A T-plan building is shown on the 1834 OS 6" map. There was originally a timber bell tower, standing to the right hand side of the church; this was replaced by the present bellcote. Pews were installed sometime after 1843. These were given to Tamnaharry House (HB16/10/010) in 1927, but subsequently returned to the gallery of this church. The original altar rail now forms the gallery balustrade. The church is shown in cruciform plan in the 1860 map.

An internal photograph of c1900 shows the sanctuary end to be very different to its present form. The nave roof is in panels as the present sacristy roof and not in timber as now. The walls are painted in a Gothic Revival repeat to a high dado level. The altar is a large Gothic affair with a bas-relief carving depicting Christ being taken down off the cross (this is now in St Patrick’s Church, Mayobridge, HB16/10/020). To rear is a large Gothic screen with angles, arcades and statues.

Extensive renovations were carried out in 1939-40 under the supervision of an architect Mr T. McClean. This included the marbling which now adorns the sanctuary and main aisle. The interior was reconfigured in 1960s following Vatican II.

Primary sources
1. OS 6" map, 1834, Co Down sheet 51 (PRONI, OS/6/3/51/1).
2. OS 6" map, 1860, Co Down sheet 51 (PRONI, OS/6/3/51/2).

Secondary sources
1. Margaret Harty, 'A Short History of the Burren Parish' (1994).
2. P. Keenan, ‘Clonallan Parish, its annals and antiquities’, 1942 (in Warrenpoint Public Library).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This church has been altered extensively, both in 1939 and following Vatican II. It has lost its original altar and reredos and the modern fittings and pews are inappropriate in style.