Holywood Parish Church of Ireland

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A double-height Victorian Gothic parish church with tower; built to designs by Charles Lanyon in 1844 with alterations and additions to plans by Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon in 1869; located to the south of Church Road near Holywood town centre. Rectangular on plan set on an east-west axis with three-stage entrance tower to southwest. The 1869 additions included a new nave, chancel and north aisle.

Pitched natural slate roof with fish-scale bands and blue/black clay ridge tiles; cross finials to gables; large round sandstone pinnacle to northeast gable and gothic round pinnacle to buttress to southwest. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on sandstone eaves with squared downpipes. Walling is uncoursed rubble sandstone with masonry plinth to nave, north aisle and apse (1844); smooth render with sandstone quoins to tower and south aisle (1896). Windows are a equilateral arched leaded stained glass (1900s) in sandstone ashlar blocked surround with chamfered masonry sills (unless otherwise stated).

Entrance to north elevation with side aisle and clerestory, abutted by projecting gabled porch at west end. East end of side aisle terminates in gabled vestry. Porch has large cast-iron gates in recessed pointed-arched surround with diminutive semi-engaged columns having Corinthian capitals; centred roundel with carved inset. Exposed section to right has paired windows surmounted by quatrefoil aperture. Vestry has single window opening and moulded roundel with inset.

Apsidal end has paired windows to each side of apse. To left is gable of south aisle which contains a diminutive window; to right is exposed section of north aisle, containing deeply recessed timber-sheeted door in chamfered surround flanked by square-headed windows.

The south elevation comprises three-stage entrance tower to left and aisle five windows wide. Aisle is abutted to far right at a recessed angle by a square rubble-stone vestibule, dating from the original 1844 construction; which is abutted to south by brick off-shot.

The west gable contains rose window with continuous sill, surmounted by quatrefoil aperture. To right is the entrance tower (described below), to left.

Three-stage decorated square tower with entrance to south; angled buttresses with offsets, pierced-spire with lucarnes behind fretted parapet and gothic pinnacled clasping buttresses: louvered Y-tracery opening with hood mould and carved head stops to second stage. Decorative gothic blind arcade with carved band and clock (dated 1985) to west, tall lancet with hood mould and foliate carved stops. To south, smooth render band between first and second stage. Double-leaf panelled timber door in pointed arch-headed recess, chamfered and channelled above plinth; hood mould with carved head stops.

Setting

The church is located to the south of Church Road to the east of Holywood town centre. Set in its own grounds along with the parochial parish hall (HB23/20/038) opposite the mid-19th century terraces of church road, opening onto Church road to north through tall iron gates and railings. Paved pathway and car-park to west.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: sandstone
Windows: Leaded stained glass
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

According to Merrick, St Philip and St James’ church dates from 1842-4 with enlargements of 1867-9 and was built to replace an earlier church occupying an ancient ecclesiastical site nearer the centre of Holywood. (Merrick, p.65)

The old Priory church in Holywood may incorporate elements of a building of 1190, although the site itself may be much older, dating back to a Hiberno-Celtic monastery of the early seventh century. An Augustinian abbey was built by Thomas Whyte, agent for John de Courcey, Anglo-Norman Earl of Ulster with remodelling c1490, 1615 and 1800. By the 1830’s this church was too small for the burgeoning population of Holywood and following some discussion and the rejection of a proposal to enlarge the existing church, it was decided to build on a new site. The work began in 1842 and was completed in 1844. Many fittings, including memorial tablets and a clock, and perhaps some stained glass from the old church was used in the new, although the present clock dates from 1985. According to Auld, the bells installed in the church were acquired from a Dublin architect who had obtained them from Dublin’s Crowe Street Theatre. (Merrick, p.9, Auld, p.112)

Charles Lanyon was the architect of the original church which consisted of a tower, nave and south aisle. A watercolour of the church as it would have appeared when first built is given in the diocesan history. (Clergy of Down and Dromore, Part I, p.125)
The ‘Church’ is shown on the second edition OS map of 1858 and is listed in Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) at a value of £56 and £4 for land. Dimensions are given for the tower, church and vestry.

Following the opening of the railway line to Holywood in 1846, there was a rapid growth in the population of the town and in 1867 a decision was made to enlarge the church to plans by Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. The enlarged church, consecrated in 1869, added a new nave, chancel and north aisle, providing accommodation for 720 people. Messrs Lowry and Son of Great George’s Street, Belfast were the contractors and the cost was about £5,000. A full description of the enlarged church is given in the Irish Builder. The original chancel became the organ chamber, and an entrance door to the west side of the tower was removed. It was at this time that the church was dedicated to St Philip and St James, representations of the saints appearing on either side of the main entrance. (Irish Builder, 1867, 1869; Auld, p.113)

Annual Revisions continue to list the church but its increased size is not reflected by a rise in valuation.

In 1876 the Irish Builder announced that a ‘handsome pulpit’ had been placed in the church at Holywood which had been designed by John Lanyon and executed by Mr A P Sharp of Great Brunswick Street. The pulpit is of Caen stone, with columns and mouldings of Galway marble. The panels contain ‘spars and marbles from Cornwall, Devon, Connemara &c’. (Irish Builder, 1876)

Late nineteenth century improvements to the church included the re-casting of the bells in 1891 by Taylors of Loughborough and the lining of the walls of south aisle with red brick in 1894 in keeping with the rest of the interior. A central aisle pavement of encaustic tiles was laid in 1912. (Auld, p.113)

In 1963 the bells were again overhauled and in 1965 the organ, which had originally been installed in 1872, was re-built by J W Walker of London and moved to the west end above the baptistry, the former organ chamber becoming the Choir Vestry. (Auld, p.113)

During the last decade of the twentieth century the church building and parochial hall underwent substantial refurbishment. (Auld, p.114)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/1/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858
2. PRONI OS/6/3/1/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-02
3. PRONI OS/6/3/1/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-31
4. PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/1 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/10A-G – Annual Revisions (1867-1930)
7. PRONI VAL/12/E/123/1/1-6 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1860-c1866)
8. PRONI VAL/12/E/123/2/1-6 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1867-1900)
9. Irish Builder, Vol 9, 1 May 1867, p.111
10. Irish Builder, Vol 11, 1 June 1869, p.135
11. Irish Builder, Vol 18, 15 June 1876, p.181

Secondary Sources

1. Auld, C. “Holywood Co Down, Then and Now” Holywood: Con Auld, 2002
2. Rankin, F., Leslie, Canon, J.B., Swanzy, Dean H.B. “Clergy of Down and Dromore” Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1996

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A double-height Victorian Gothic parish church with tower; completed in 1844 to designs by Charles Lanyon, with the addition of a new nave, chancel and south aisle in 1869 to designs by Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. The exterior displays fine architectural detailing, with good stonework. The church is an important example of the work of a prominent local architect and has retained much of its original character. It shares its grounds with the church hall (HB23/20/038) and together they form an important group.

General comments

Please note this record has been renumbered, it was prevously recorded as HB23/20/039