Survey Data
Reg No
41402706
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Church/chapel
Date
1825 - 1830
Coordinates
275184, 312329
Date Recorded
15/06/2012
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding limestone-built Church of Ireland church, dated 1828, having two-bay nave, three-stage entrance tower to north and gabled vestry to east. Pitched slate roof having stone copings and cast-iron rainwater goods. Tower with crenellated parapet and spired corner pinnacles. Coursed limestone walls having tooled limestone quoins and plinth, tower also having string courses, and clasping buttresses to upper stages. Tooled limestone date plaque to north elevation of tower, above entrance. Pointed-arch openings having chamfered surrounds, hood-mouldings and sills, and timber Y-traceried windows. Tudor-arch triple-light east window with Y-tracery. Openings to third stage of tower having timber louvres. Square-headed windows openings to front of middle stage of tower having timber double window. Square-headed window opening to east side of vestry having timber window. Entrances to tower and vestry have pointed-arch openings with tooled limestone hood-mouldings and timber panelled doors, double-leaf to tower, with limestone steps. Interior of vestibule has timber tongue-and-groove ceiling and timber ladder to trapdoor. Pointed-arch door opening leading to nave, having timber panelled double-leaf door with timber battened over-door. Exposed rubble walls to interior, withe timber wainscoting to dado level. Exposed king-post truss roof, with tongue-and-grooved timbered to ceiling, upper gables and wall tops. Timber panelled box pews on raised timber platforms flanking central aisle. Carved timber round-plan pulpit having foliate patterned panels and engaged composite columns, cast-iron and timber lectern to front, timber altar table on carpeted steps. Cast-iron and timber altar rail. Church set on elevated site, surrounded by coursed limestone walls with square-plan coursed limestone piers and cast-iron gate.
Appraisal
This typical early nineteenth-century Church of Ireland church sits within its own grounds, occupying a pleasant site enhanced by its rural picturesque wooded setting. The attractive traceried windows give the building an artistic quality and add interest to the structure. The fine limestone masonry is clearly the work of skilled craftsmen. It was built as a chapel of ease for Aughnamullen parish with a grant of £900 by the Board of First Fruits, the form being typical of the work of that body, with the entrance through the bell tower and a simple external form. Formerly derelict and restored in the 1990s, the interior of this modest church is subtly enlivened by timber fittings, which enhance its ecclesiastical nature. A highly decorative pulpit provides artistic interest, and timber wainscoting provide a textural and visual contrast to the exposed stone walls.