Survey Data
Reg No
14402304
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1795 - 1805
Coordinates
271023, 268941
Date Recorded
12/07/2002
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached four-bay double-height Catholic church, built 1800, on a cruciform plan comprising two-bay double-height nave opening into single-bay (single-bay deep) double-height transepts centred on single-bay double-height shallow chancel to crossing (south); single-bay single-storey gabled projecting porch (north). Renovated, 1978, with sanctuary reordered. Replacement pitched artificial slate roof on a cruciform plan with ridge tiles, and cast-iron rainwater goods on box eaves. Roughcast walls bellcast over rendered plinth. Pointed-arch window openings with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, timber mullions, and concealed dressings framing fixed-pane fittings having margined square glazing bars. Lancet window openings (south) with concealed dressings framing fixed-pane fittings having margined square glazing bars. Full-height interior with carpeted central aisle between replacement timber pews, carpeted stepped dais to sanctuary to crossing (south) reordered, 1978, with cut-veined white marble tabernacle in mosaic tiled surround, and cornice to ceiling. Set in landscaped grounds on a slightly elevated site.
Appraisal
A church representing an integral component of the ecclesiastical heritage of County Meath with the architectural value of the composition, 'a handsome modern building' showing the hallmarks of a period of construction coinciding with the gradual dismantling of the Penal Laws in anticipation of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, suggested by such attributes as the traditional cruciform plan form; and the "pointed" profile of the openings underpinning a contemporary Georgian Gothic theme. Having been well maintained, the form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior reordered (1978) in accordance with the liturgical reforms sanctioned by the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (1962-5) where gilded mosaic work highlights the artistic potential of a church making a pleasing visual statement in a rural street scene.