St Malachy's RC Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey, gothic RC church of 1901 with tall three storey pinnacled tower. The church is set to the N of the Dublin Road, at the centre of the small village of Kilcoo (4.5 miles SW of Castlewellan), in its own grounds, with a small graveyard the E and the parochial house to the W. The former school also remains within the curtilage.

The front gable faces S. The main entrance door sits within a slightly projecting gabled porch and has a pointed arch head with archivolt and drip moulding with label stops. The base of the porch walls are splayed out to match the main walls. The apex is surmounted by a small stone cross. The double timber doors have diagonal sheeting and decorative strap hinges. To either side of the porch is a tall narrow ‘arrow loop’ window. Directly over the porch are three tall pointed arch headed windows, the centre being taller and wider. To the main gable apex has a small louvered window opening and is surmounted by a Celtic cross. Each corner has stepped reducing buttresses to the front and sides. The buttresses have small gabled minarets.

To the right (E) and slightly set back is the three storey tower. The W face of the ground and first floor abut the main building and are therefore obscured. To the ground of the S, and N faces are a squat pointed arch headed windows. To the E face is a diagonally sheeted double door with plain fanlight all recessed within a segmental arched headed opening. To the first floor of the S, E & N faces are tall lancet windows. To all faces of the second floor are tall pointed arch headed louvers. All window openings have smooth stone dressings. The tower is finished with minarets with tall pyramidal caps with metal finials. Between the minarets are simple castellations.

To the left of the tower on the E façade is a single lancet window with plain glazing. To the right of the tower, E façade has 5 bays, each framed with reducing buttresses and each with paired lancet windows with smooth stone dressings. To the far right is the W side of the sanctuary which is blank.

The W façade has also five bays with paired lancet windows and buttresses, all as before. To the left side is a small lean-to porch. The S face is blank while the W face has a central, diagonally sheeted door with sash window (without astragals) either side. To the far left is a one and a half storey projecting gabled bay. To the ground floor are two widely spaced pointed arch headed windows and to the first floor is a paired sash window (also without astragals) surmounted by a relieving arch. To the N face are two small paired sash windows. All these windows have in/out, smooth stone dressings.

The rear N gable has three high level lancet windows centrally placed. Each corner has reducing buttresses to the front and sides. To the right is the N side of the two storey section. To the left of centre is a paired sash window without astragals and with decorative security grills.

The main roof is finished in Bangor Blue slate and the eaves are supported on projecting stone brackets. The eaves of the one and a half storey section to W have exposed rafter ends. All gables have shallow smooth stone parapets. Ogee gutters and a mixture of square section and round down pipes– all in cast iron. The external walls all rest on a small projecting plinth. The external walls are finished in dark, grey/blue, rock faced [?]granite with smooth light sand coloured stone dressings. A small area of the stone has fallen off and reveals a brick core. It would appear that the external stone is in fact cladding rather than structural.

To the road side is a low stone wall in matching stone. The decorative wrought iron gates are supported on square gates pillars set in a semi-circular screen wall.

Historical information

This church was built in 1901, replacing an earlier one the same site which was built in 1832. The entrance porch / lobbies appear to have been renovated in the 1970s.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Two storey, gothic RC church of 1901 with tall three storey pinnacled tower.