St Colmcille's Tower & Spire

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A freestanding High Victorian Gothic church tower with spire, approximately 150ft high, built c.1890 and formerly attached to St Colmcille’s Church, completed 1874. The tower is all that remains of the original church, which has been replaced with a contemporary building, built 1993. Rectangular on plan and located with a group of church buildings at the western approach to Holywood town, to the south side of Belfast Road.

The tower is of four stages including a belfry stage, and topped by an octagonal ashlar sandstone spire with lucarnes. Walling is generally squared uncoursed rock-faced Scrabo sandstone with red (Locharbriggs) sandstone dressings. All corners have offset two-stage angle buttresses with exception of SE corner which has a semi-engaged octagonal stair-tower rising to third stage. Lower stages are delineated by a flush ashlar platband (that between second and third stages functions as a cill course and is inscribed: “THE CHURCH OF ST. COLUMBA DEDICATED JUNE 14TH 1874 / NEW CHURCH BUILT AND TOWER RESTORED 1993 AD / HAVE MERCY O LORD ON THE SOUL OF PATRICK READ / BY WHOSE BEQUEST THIS TOWER WAS COMPLETED AD 1890.”); belfry stage is delineated by a moulded string course. Belfry stage has octagonal corner piers, plainly detailed to midway with central decorative carved stone detail (extending from impost level of belfry openings), top half with elongated panels. The piers rise to panelled pinnacles flanking the spire, which is further enclosed by a parapet to all sides, slightly overhanging on a series of stone brackets, gabled to centre and having lancet and plate tracery style piercings.

Openings consist of a variety of lancets, all with chamfered sandstone dressings and polychrome sandstone voussoirs over. Some are blind, others decoratively glazed with stained and leaded glazing (detailed with elevations, below). The stair tower is lit by a series of small staggered pointed arched loop openings, with a series of elongated loops to top section. Belfry stage is similarly detailed to each side, each having a paired open lancet opening framed by clusters of slender colonnettes and with carved hood moulds beneath voussoirs; above is a plate tracery rose in moulded surround.

Entrance elevation faces south and contains a pointed-arched diagonally-sheeted timber door with strap hinges, deeply recessed within a surround consisting of a moulded sandstone head with hood mould and carved stops all on recessed red sandstone colonnettes with foliated capitals and impost moulding. Further raking string course over entrance. Second stage has a lancet to either side of a statuary niche containing a statue of Mary on an octagonal base and pedestal, and topped with a gableted canopy with trefoil detail. Third stage is narrower and has a pair of blind lancets, each framed by a slender colonnette.

West elevation has a pair of lancets to first stage, separated by a red sandstone colonnette. Second stage has two lancets; third stage has a group of four blind lancets, detailed as before.

North elevation has a recessed lancet statuary niche with statue of St Colmcille.

East elevation is identical to west.

SETTING:
The church is set on an elevated site, enclosed to Belfast Road and My Lady’s Mile by a set of painted cast-iron railings on a rock-faced sandstone plinth wall. Immediately to north is the modern church, built 1993, and to east are a mid twentieth-century two-storey presbytery and church office. The church is accessed from Belfast Road at west via a tarmac drive; main gates are located on My Lady’s Road, consisting of a simple rock-faced screen with flat coping, inset with pedestrian gates and matching sliding vehicular gates. The parking area on entry is paved with large decorative circular panel with dove and olive branch to centre. To east are a number of granite table memorials commemorating incumbent priests, and a fine carved stone Celtic Cross memorial inscribed to the memory of Rt. Rev. Monsignor O’ Laverty, died 1906.

Walling: Rock faced Scrabo stone, Locharbrigg sandstone dressings.
Windows: Stained and leaded lancets.

Historical information

Holywood has been an ecclesiastical site since the seventh century, but Catholics had virtually no religious representation in the town between 1642, when a massacre took place in the area and 1811 when the Catholic Parish of Newtownards and Holywood was constituted. Mass was celebrated in a variety of private buildings until the construction of St Patrick’s church in Church View which was consecrated in 1830 and is shown on the first edition OS map of 1834. This earlier church was demolished in 1977, after having been used as a National School from 1889 and later a Church Hall. (Merrick, p.63)

Following an expansion in the Catholic population of the area, Rev James O’Laverty, historian and author of ‘History of the diocese of Down and Connor’ vowed, while conducting a historical tour to Iona that he would build a parish church dedicated to St Columbkille in Holywood. (The current preferred spelling is St Colmcille.) (Brett, p.73)

The competition to design the church was won, in 1869, by Timothy Hevey, who had been an assistant of Pugin and Ashlin. In 1870 the Irish Builder carried an illustration of Hevey’s design for the church, in its original intended location, beside the Second Presbyterian church in High Street. The church, as it was built, departs in some respects from this design. (Irish Builder)

Father O’Laverty is said to have preferred the present site and the foundation stone for the church was laid in 1872. It was consecrated in 1874. The contractor was John Ross of Belfast and the initial cost £3,493. O’Laverty’s diocesan history contains a full description of the church as it was built and the Reverend notes that, at the time of the church’s consecration in 1874, the tower had only been constructed as high as the nave. (Merrick, p.64; Brett, p.73)

Timothy Hevey died in 1878 and the tower and spire were completed by his younger partner, Mortimer Thompson, to a design which did not greatly differ from Hevey’s original. A Mortimer Thompson is also known to have been the agent of Lord Dufferin and supervisor of some of his architectural projects in the 1850’s. It may be that this Mortimer Thompson is his son. The designs were drawn up in 1888 and the tower completed in 1891, bringing the final total for construction of the church to £7,468. The tower is built of Scrabo sandstone with Locharbriggs sandstone dressings. A plan of the church and tower is shown on valuation town plans dating from c.1867 and 1898 and Brett's 'Buildings of North Down' carries a photograph of the building, showing the nave partially abutting the northern face of the tower. (Merrick, p.64, www.stonedatabase.com, Brett, p.74)

The church first enters Annual Revisions in 1872 as a ‘site of new RC Chapel’. However, it is not given a valuation until 1890 when it is valued at £160. It is shown on the third edition OS map of 1900-02 when it is captioned ‘St Columkille’s RC Church’.
After the destruction of the old church, in an arson attack in 1989, a decision was made to rebuild in a contemporary style and the architects Rooney and McConville were appointed. The contractors were Killowen Contracts of Warrenpoint. The new building was located on the site of the previous church but leaving the spire detached as a separate element. A circular plan was adopted to facilitate participation by the assembly as required by the Second Vatican Council. The altar, ambo, tabernacle and baptismal font in Portuguese limestone were designed by Richard King of Dublin. Richard King also designed the pascal candlestick, tabernacle lamp and processional cross in bronze and enamel stations of the cross, tabernacle door and angel panels. The stained glass windows are by Lua Breen of Donegal and the mosaic backing to the font by Helen McLain of Holywood. (Ulster Architect; Brett, p.74)

References;

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/1/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-02
2. PRONI OS/6/3/1/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-31
3. PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/10A-G – Annual Revisions (1867-1930)
5. PRONI VAL/12/E/123/1/1-6 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1860-c1866)
6. PRONI VAL/12/E/123/2/1-6 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1867-1900)
7. PRONI VAL/12/E/123/4/1-4 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (1898-1916)
8. Irish Builder, Vol 11, 15 July, 1869, p.168
9. Irish Builder, Vol 11, 1 August, 1869, p.180
10. Irish Builder, Vol 12, 15 April, 1870, p.86, 94 (illus)
11. Irish Builder, Vol 13, 1 June 1871, notice of contract
12. Irish Builder, Vol 16, 15 January 1874, p.17
13. Irish Builder, Vol 30, 15 September, 1888, p.242

Secondary Sources

1. Auld, C. “Holywood Co Down, Then and Now” Holywood: Con Auld, 2002
2. Brett, C.E.B. “Buildings of North County Down” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002
3. Merrick, Tony “Buildings of Holywood” Holywood: Holywood Advertiser, 1986
4. Ulster Architect, Vol 12, Iss 6, May/June 1995, p.6-7
5. www.stonedatabase.com

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

St Colmcille’s tower and spire constitutes the only remaining fragment of the former St Colmcille’s Roman Catholic Church, which was demolished in 1989 following a fire. Completed c.1891 to designs by Mortimer Thompson, it remains as an impressive freestanding structure in four-stages with octagonal spire, all executed in High Gothic style in local Scrabo sandstone with red Lochnarbrigg dressings resulting in a vigorous polychromatic appearance. The carved stone ornamentation is an assured example of the style, enhanced in effect by the soaring proportions. The tower and spire have been integrated into a contemporary scheme by architects Rooney and McConville, completed 1993 and consisting of a new church designed in a contemporary Celtic-revival idiom, and employing similar rock-faced sandstone walling.