St. Malachy's Church (RC)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Five-bay early-Victorian Gothic hall type Roman Catholic church with painted rendered walling and granite dressings, built in 1835 (datestone) to designs by an unknown architect. Rectangular plan form facing S towards Ballymoyer Road the church is orientated E-W and has a projecting confessional bay with canted sides to centre of rear N facade. There is a later projecting gabled porch attached to S/SW of church and a projecting gabled vestry block to its NE corner.

St Malachy's Church is located on a sloping site within private grounds set to lawn, being set back to the N side of Ballymoyer Road with St Malachy’s Primary School (rebuilt in 1906) located to the E side of a decorative set of churchyard gates opening onto a tarmaced drive leading up to the church; painted metal gates hung on square-section painted rough cast cement rendered pillars with all finials. Gates are stamped ‘G. Jones, Maker, York St. Belfast '.

Pitched natural slate roof has decorative angled terracotta clay ridge tiles with pierced trefoils (several courses of slate near ridge are composed of smaller slates and are of a lighter colour). Raised verges to E and W gables and single granite crosses to their apex. Flush eaves with moulded cornice and painted granite corbels. Generally aluminium ogee guttering discharging to square-section uPVC downpipes.

Typically painted smooth render walling with a similar finish to plinth.

Principal elevation
Main elevation faces S towards Ballymoyer Road and consists of a five bay block with four-centred arch heads to four long windows; each window has painted timber tracery composed of a pair of semi-circular-headed lights with a roundel above and leaded stained glass. Windows have raised stepped render surrounds with moulding to heads and jambs and splayed dressed granite cills. Hood moulds above windows have decorative corbel stops.

First bay from W is fronted by a projecting gabled side entry porch with angle buttresses and smooth stepped granite dressings; small pointed lancet window to W, decorative window to S (composed of a lancet with roundel above), granite cill and impost course and a recessed pointed arch doorway to E side of porch. Door has hood mould with plain corbel stops and a two part pointed arch painted sheeted timber door, with decorative iron hinges, opening onto two granite steps.

West elevation
Side elevation faces W, is fronted by a concrete footpath and consists of a gabled block with granite cross to apex with louvered lancet ope to gable; rose window (six petal flower design) with raised render surround to FF and a paired lancet window (former door) to GF in-line below rose window. Front porch is narrowly set back from gable and connected to S having a single pointed arch lancet.

North elevation
Rear elevation faces N, is fronted by later T-plan vestry block to NE and a concrete footpath. Main church has a confessional bay to centre which narrowly projects having canted sides, with single pointed lancets near eaves, flanked by single long four-centred arch headed windows, with tracery similar to those of the front elevation.

Concrete footpath to N with smooth rendered retaining wall; higher ground and a rubble stone wall to the N site boundary.

Pitched roof vestry block projects N from E side of elevation having a narrowly projecting chimney breast (now reduced to gable) to gable, a lower gabled block extending to E and a further lower block extending to W (outbuilding). Western block has a two part painted sheeted timber door facing S towards main church and Eastern block has a top opening timber casement window with modern galvanized metal security screen. W elevation for Vestry block is partly fronted by an oil tank and has a double hung sliding timber sash window with metal screen.

East elevation
East elevation, is fronted by a tarmaced path, faces towards the school playground and consists of a gabled block with granite cross to apex. Gabled block is blind except for a louvered lancet ope to gable. Large rectangular slate datestone at GF which records: ‘DOMUM TUAM. DOMINE DECET SANCTITUDO, Ps 92 V5, HOLINESS BECOMETH THY HOUSE O LORD, Ps 92 V5, THIS CHURCH DEDICATED TO ST MALACHY THE PATRON SAINT OF THE ARCHDIOCESS OF ARMAGH WAS ERECTED A.A. 1835’

Vestry block projects from E side having a paired top opening timber casement window and a concrete ramp leading to a door on its S facing elevation: four panelled painted timber door with a three part square-headed fanlight above. Vestry block has exposed painted timber rafter ends and a natural slate roof.

Setting
St Malachy's Church is located on a sloping site within private grounds being set back to the N side of Ballymoyer Road where the main entrance to the churchyard is located; vehicular entrance flanked by dwarf walling with painted rough cast finish topped by decorative painted metal railings with some scrollwork panels and similar gates by Jones, York St, Belfast (stamped). Gates are hung on square-section rendered pillars with cast finial caps. Primary school to E side of gates; four bay pitched roof building with numerous modern extensions to rear and E side. A tarmaced drive leads straight from the gates to the church being flanked by areas of grass which slope down towards gates. There are two Victorian lamp standards to entrance and three cross monuments next to church. St Luke's Church of Ireland (HB16/20/005) and the former Church of Ireland building (now roofless) (HB16/20/006) are located to the S side of Ballymoyer Road.

Materials:
Roof: Natural slate
RWGs: Aluminium and uPVC
Walls: Painted render and Granite
Windows: Stained glass

Historical information

St. Malachy’s Church, a Roman Catholic chapel located in the townland of Knockavannon, was constructed in 1835, replacing an earlier chapel which had stood on the site. The church was initially recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (1834-35) which depicted it along its current rectangular-shaped layout. The accompanying Townland Valuations (c. 1835) described the chapel as a 1A class structure (that is a new or nearly new building) that measured 75ft by 35ft and stood 21 feet in height. The value of the chapel was initially set at £12 and 12 shillings, although the chapel was exempt from taxation. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) records that St. Malachy’s Church was the sole Roman Catholic house of worship in the parish of Ballymyre (Ballymoyer) in the early-19th century. Lewis noted that the previous chapel on the site had lacked a roof but formed a ‘picturesque and interesting object’ (Lewis). A datestone, located on the outer wall of the building, records that the current chapel was erected in 1835 and was dedicated to St. Malachy, patron saint of the Archdiocese of Armagh.

There was little change to the layout of the church by the second edition Ordnance Survey map (1860) which continued to depict the building along its current layout, although the map did record that a schoolhouse (known as Ballymyre National School) was located near the chapel on the Ballymoyer Road. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1862) records that the church and its national schoolhouse were jointly valued at £25. The architect of the chapel is unknown. However inspection of the building, carried out as part of the Second Survey, finds that the altar tilework was designed by W. Douglas of Brunswick Street Belfast and the Stations of the Cross were made by M. H. Gill & Son Ltd. of Upper O’Connell Street in Dublin. The metalwork incorporated into the chapel’s gallery was manufactured by MacFarlane & Co. of Glasgow whilst the entrance gates were cast by G. Jones of York Street, Belfast. There was no change to the value of the chapel and its schoolhouse by the end of the Annual Revisions (1865-1929), despite the fact that the national school was replaced with the current school in 1906. The value of the chapel was increased to £50 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) and was further raised to £64 by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72).

References
Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/2/21/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1834-35)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/21/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1860)
3. PRONI OS/6/2/21/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906)
4. PRONI OS/6/2/21/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1955)
5. PRONI VAL/1/B/239 – Townland Valuations (c. 1835)
6. PRONI VAL/2/B/2/13 – Griffith’s Valuation (1862)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/2A-D – Annual Revisions (1865-1929)
8. PRONI VAL/3/C/2/12 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
9. PRONI VAL/4/B/2/19 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
10. Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
11. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1918)

Criteria: R, S, X, Y
Architect: Not Known.
Townland: Knockavannon

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

T. Historic Importance
R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Five-bay early-Victorian Gothic RC church with painted rendered walling and granite dressings, built in 1835 to designs by an unknown architect. Having a rectangular plan form facing S towards Ballymoyer Road, the church is orientated E-W and has a projecting confessional bay with canted sides to centre of rear N facade, a later projecting gabled porch attached to S/SW of church and a projecting gabled T-plan vestry block to its NE corner. This rural church is located on an elevated site next to a school having well designed proportions and detailing and is of local historical and social importance. St Malachy’s retains original internal features and, being part of a cluster of other historic churches within the immediate vicinity. Although there is no historical evidence it is possible that this early catholic church set parallel to the road may have originally been conceived as having the altar on the long wall, where the mid-twentieth century confessionals are now located.