St. Patricks R C Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A double-height Gothic-style Roman Catholic church built c.1855 to the designs of William Barre. Rectangular nave with chancel and side altars. Located on the south side of Gargarry Road, east of the parochial house approximately ½ a mile east of the junction with Castlewellan Road.

Pitched natural slate roof with crested ridge tiles; cast-iron rainwater goods fixed to corbelled eaves supported on masonry brackets; lead covered coping throughout. Rubble masonry walling with granite ashlar dress stone. Stained-glass/leaded windows set into pointed-arched openings with chamfered long-and-short surrounds. Replacement timber sheeted door with fixed light over set into pointed-arched opening with chamfered long-and-short surrounds.

The principal elevation faces west and is symmetrically arranged. Centrally positioned gabled single-storey porch surmounted with an apex cross. Porch flanked by two windows. Above the porch, the gable is dominated by two buttresses rising to form a pointed arch embracing a gallery window and rising to a large gabled bell cote with bell. Two-stage lateral buttresses to either side of the gable.

The left elevation is asymmetrical; four bays wide separated by two-stage buttress. The far right buttress is double width. The two bays at right both comprise two uniformly arranged windows. The bay left of centre comprises two windows with raised cill level to incorporate a small lean-to abutment below. The far left bay comprises a full width gable-ended projected baptistery; large timber framed Y-tracery window with stained glass centrally positioned on the gable; square-headed window to the right and left cheeks.

The rear gable is asymmetrically arranged; centrally abutted by the gabled chancel comprising a large window with intersecting masonry tracery; masonry finial; the right and left cheeks have single windows. Right of the chancel is a single window. The left window is significantly reduced in size to incorporate a lean-to abutment comprising a small window to the west face and a door with a corbelled lintel to the south.

The right elevation is asymmetrically arranged matching the left elevation with exception to the far right bay whereby the projection incorporates a masonry chimney surmounted by gabletted cap and a further single-storey lean-to abutment to the left cheek (door to the east face).

Setting

Rural
setting on an elevated site with panoramic views over the landscape. The east of the site is bounded by a masonry wall; the south by wrought-iron railings with decorative castings; matching gates supported on cast-iron piers. Sweeping driveway leading to a car park to the rear; burial grounds addressing the front. The parochial house to the west; two-storey three-bay; replacement casement windows and twentieth century porch; pitched slate roof and long-and-short quoins; of no significant interest.

Roofing: Natural slate
Walling: stone
Windows: Stained/leaded glass
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, situated at Dolly’s Brae in the townland of Gargarry, was constructed in 1855 and replaced an earlier chapel that had stood on the site, possibly as early as the mid-18th century. The first chapel appears on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1833 where it was depicted as an oblong-shaped building captioned ‘R.C. Chapel’ and was situated a number of yards further south of the current edifice; the parochial house, which is located to the west of the current church, had not been constructed by that time. The original church was likely to be an unsatisfactory building; the Townland Valuations (c. 1830) valued the chapel at a low £3 12s., whilst the contemporary Ordnance Survey Memoirs described it as ‘a plain building of unhewn stone, 63ft long and 25ft broad.’ The memoir writer did not know in which year the original chapel had been constructed, or what it had cost to erect, however he noted that the parish priest in 1836 was the Rev. Patrick Morgan (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, p. 22).

The current Gothic church was constructed in 1855 and was designed to accommodate 600 people. The architect was William Joseph Barre (c. 1826-1867), a Newry and Belfast-based architect who is best known for planning the Ulster Hall (HB26/30/057) and also designed St. Colman’s R.C. Church in Annaclone (HB17/08/009) and the Church of St. Mary Immaculate in Lisnavaghrog (HB17/09/010). The Dublin Builder notes that the church’s belfry and bell were cast by a Mr. Murphy (unknown) whilst the original altar and tabernacle were added by a Mr. Frederick Barff of Dublin (Dublin Builder, p. 204; Dictionary of Irish Architects).

The second edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1859) shows that the new building was erected to the north of the original chapel (of which there was no trace); the map also noted that the two-storey parochial house had been constructed between 1833 and 1859. The layout of the church has not been significantly altered since it was erected in the 1850s when it was designed as a cruciform church. St. Patrick’s Church was a much grander edifice than the original structure; in c. 1862 Griffith’s Valuation valued the church at £20 and, although a number of minor alterations to its interior were added, the value of the site was not altered by the end of the Annual Revisions in 1929.

The Roman Catholic Parish of Upper Drumgooland was established in 1784; however it was two years before the first church in the area, St. Mary’s (HB17/10/004), was established in the townland of Leitrim. It is not known exactly when the first chapel in Gargarry townland, however McCartan notes that there are ‘tenuous grounds for believing’ that the chapel may have been constructed as early as c. 1760, therefore predating the chapel in Leitrim by approximately 25 years. The two-storey Parochial House predates the current church and was added to the west of the original chapel between 1840 and 1845 (McCartan).

Prior to its replacement in the 1850s the original chapel at Gargarry was involved in the incident at Dolly’s Brae on 12th July 1849. The Dolly’s Brae Affray took place towards the end of the Great Irish Famine and was one of the worst sectarian massacres of the 19th century in Ireland. A number of Orange Order Lodges from the area had planned to march from Rathriland to Tollymore Park, their provocative route taking them through a number of predominantly Catholic townlands. Between 1,200 and 1,400 Orangemen took part in the, initially peaceful march, joined by local magistrates and businessmen including Francis Beers of Ballyward Lodge (see HB17/10/007); however on their return journey the marchers opened fire on the Catholics and Ribbonmen that had gathered at Dolly’s Brae to protest against the march. It was not known who fired the first shot; however the incident resulted in the deaths of around 30 local Catholics and the burning of many homes in the area (Brown, pp 49-50). The chapel in Gargarry was the closest Roman Catholic Church to Dolly’s Brae and during the running gun-battle was set on fire by marauding Orangemen; as a result of the incident at Dolly’s Brae the government passed a ban on Orange marches (McCartan).

With the near destruction of the original chapel the parish priest, the Rev. Bernard Hughes, began preparation for the building of a new structure on the site. Construction of the current Gothic church began in 1855 and in that same year the building was dedicated to St. Patrick. Minor modifications were made to the church in 1912; however the first major alteration to the building occurred in 1915 when the Rev. Edward McCartan installed the gallery, the mosaic floor in the chancel and the new marble altar at a total cost of £1,600. Further additions were made between 1920 and 1924 when a number of altars, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as well as a set of Stations of the Cross were gifted to the church by local parishioners.

Later additions included the installation of electric lighting in 1940-41 and the fitting of a new vestry floor between 1958 and 1964. St. Patrick’s Church was listed in 1977 and since that time the roof of the church was replaced (1981). The most recent alteration to the church took place in 1997 when the sanctuary and baptistry were renovated (McCartan).

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/42/1 – First edition Ordnance Survey map 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/3/42/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1859
3. PRONI OS/6/3/42/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1901-1902
4. PRONI OS/6/3/42/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1919-1920
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/3/42 – Townland Valuation map 1833
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/359 – Townland Valuation c. 1830
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/51/A – Griffith’s Valuation c. 1862
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/5A – Annual Revisions 1864-1875
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/5B – Annual Revisions 1876-1889
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/5C – Annual Revisions 1888-1898
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/5D – Annual Revisions 1899-1908
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/5E – Annual Revisions 1909-1920
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/5F – Annual Revisions 1921-1929
14. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Down I Vol. 3 (1836)
15. Dublin Builder (Vol. 2, 1 Feb 1860)
16. First Survey Record – HB17/10/10 (1969)

Secondary Sources

1. Brown, W., ‘An army with banners: The real face of Orangeism’ Belfast: Beyond the Pale, 2003.
2. McCartan, M. ‘The Diocese of Dromore past & present: Parishes of Drumgooland’ Dromore: Dromore Diocesan Historical Society, 2004.

Online Resources

1. Dictionary of Irish Architects Website - www.dia.ie

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

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

Evaluation

A double-height Gothic-style church built c.1855 to the designs of William Barre. Recently renovated, its historic character and appearance survive. However, the interior has been significantly altered with changes involving much historic fabric and affecting its character. Despite these changes, the church remains a good example of the work of a prominent local architect in its original setting with good gates and railings.