Survey Data
Reg No
20851005
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1830 - 1850
Coordinates
163743, 50734
Date Recorded
02/03/2009
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding Gothic Revival cruciform-plan gable-fronted double-height Catholic church, built c.1840, having three-bay façade surmounted by ornate ashlar limestone pinnacles to front (south-east), three-bay nave (north-east and south-west) elevations, and single-bay transepts with single-bay single-storey porches to side elevations. Later ambulatory to rear (north-west), two-bay single-storey sacristy to side (south-west) and recent flat-roofed extensions to side (north-east) and rear elevations. Attached parochial house to north-east. Pitched slate roof with tooled limestone coping to gables, carved limestone pinnacles to transepts, snecked limestone chimneystack to sacristy and uPVC rainwater goods throughout. Ashlar limestone to front elevation having carved sill and string courses and corner pilasters. Roughcast rendered walls to side and rear elevations. Group of three pointed arch window openings to front elevation surmounted by single carved limestone hood-moulding, with intersecting timber tracery and lead-lined stained glass windows. Pointed arch window openings to side elevations of nave having lead-lined stained glass windows with intersecting timber tracery. Pointed arch door openings to front elevation having double-leaf timber battened doors and cut limestone hood moulding. Pointed arch door openings to porches with double-leaf timber battened doors. Carved vaulted timber ceiling to interior with raised cruck frame having red marble supporting columns with foliated capitals and angelic bust corbels. Carved timber gallery to rear, and marble altar and ornate reredos to front. Freestanding cast-iron bell tower to east.
Appraisal
This well-executed church with its impressive Gothic Revival style is prominently sited over looking the historic town of Kinsale and closing the vista from the tree lined Carmel Avenue. The structure has retained many original features including fine stained-glass windows and the ashlar stonework facade which displays evidence of skilled craftsmanship in its detailed design. The fine interior features such as the decorative altar, carved timber ceiling and stained glass windows add further artistic interest to the site. Built by the Carmelite order on the site of an earlier chapel (also of Carmelite denomination), it was financed by money collected from England, and built as a famine relief project. The limestone of the facade was sourced from the Kilnacloona quarry on the Ringrone bank of the Bandon River. The impressive timber gallery and ambulatory was added during the 1870's and exhibits the skills of the local ship builders who executed the timber work.