Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB23/07/004 A

Address :
Bangor Abbey Parish Church of Ireland Newtownards Road Bangor Co Down BT20 4BW

Townland:
Corporation

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
17/07/1978 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
Yes

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
115/16

IG Ref:
J5010 8110

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Owner Category

Church - C of I

Exterior Description And Setting

Double height Gothic Revival church built c.1830; 15th century tower; cruciform plan. Located off Newtownards Road; adjacent former gate lodge to Bangor castle (HB23/07/001C) and St Malachy’s Wall (DOW:002002). Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles. Cast-iron ogee moulded gutters and circular down pipes. Cast-iron square section downpipes and hopper heads to modern single storey addition. Rendered walling with fine dry dash; two-stage diagonal buttressing and projected string course at plinth level to main body of the church; exposed random rubble masonry tower; dressed stone to spire. Windows principally gothic; sandstone surrounds with hood mouldings; Y-tracery. Tudor-arched openings to transepts with intersecting-tracery. Arched and gothic openings to tower with quatrefoil lights to spire. Primary door timber sheeted painted black with strap hinges and ironmongery, painted gold; set into elliptical sandstone surround with mould-stops; carved figured key-block. Principal elevation faces west. Gable ended nave with two-stage diagonal buttressing, abutted by single-stage tower with spire. Tower comprises square base rising to balustraded parapet level with quatrefoil details at cardinal points and pyramidal pinnacles at corners surmounted by tall octagonal spire; gothic openings with stone surrounds and weathered detail to keystone to base of spire on cardinal points incorporating louvred vents; mounded string course at impost level; 2No. quatrefoil lights on cardinal points (diminishing to pinnacle); spherical pinnacle. Principal entrance centrally located on West-face with gothic window with cusped Y-tracery over; figurative carvings to door and window head; clock face over at high level. Modern ramped access to front of tower with substantial buttress to right of entrance. North-face of tower abutted by external stone steps providing access to upper sections of tower; clock face over at high level. South-face of tower abutted by single-storey lean-to addition: lancet and arched opening over. East-face abutted by double height nave; arched window over. North elevation abutted by single-storey flat roof, Tudor-style extension built c.1990 with three windows over to nave. Left side abutted by double height gabled transept with two-stage diagonal buttress; centrally located transept window with louvred lancet opening over. West-face of transept abutted by single-storey extension; East-face abutted by single-storey gabled porch secondary entrance accessed by six stone steps with modern handrails, single window opening to left. East facing rear gabled elevation abutted by modern replacement gabled chancel built c.1960; louvred lancet opening at apex; gothic tripartite windows to each cheek. South elevation principally matches north. Gabled transept to right; single door to East-face of transept with window right; West-face of transept has a single window. Three windows to nave; single-storey lean-to roof addition partially abutting left hand side. Setting Located off Newtownards Road; adjacent former gate lodge to Bangor castle (HB23/07/001C) and St Malachy’s Wall (DOW:002002).Exposed site with multiple views on approach. Sited within rubble masonry boundary wall encompassing graveyard; graves dating from as early as 1670. Modern hospital complex located to the south; busy thoroughfare to the west and a single-storey church hall adjacent to the north. East of the church is Castle Park, comprising mature woods and open grass spaces. Roofing: Natural slate Walling: Rendered / rubble and dressed stone Windows: Stained glass RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

According to the Annals of Ulster, a monastery was founded at Bangor in the 550’s by St Comgall and was a celebrated centre of learning, attracting students from across the Christian world. The monastery was also known for its manuscripts, the ‘Bangor Antiphonary’ now being held in the Ambrosian Library, Milan. The monastery declined following a number of Viking raids in the 9th century, to be restored in importance in the twelfth century by abbot Mael Maedoc Ua Morga’r, later known as Malachy, who introduced the Augustinians to Bangor. According to the Archaeological Survey, the present tower, constructed of greywacke with Scrabo sandstone dressings, probably dates from around the mid-fifteenth century, when the Augustinian community was taken over by a Franciscan abbot. However, there is some dispute about whether the monastic community became Franciscan at this time, some writers claiming that it remained Augustinian until dissolution. Bangor Abbey is one of only four places in Ireland depicted on the prestigious Hereford Mappa Mundi which was completed around 1300. Since this time, the fortunes of the abbey have both waxed and waned, reflected by several phases of rebuilding. (Archaeological Survey, p.265-6, Clergy of Down and Connor, p.52, Hamilton, p.3-21, www.stonedatabase.com) There are a number of stone coffin lids at the church dating from the medieval period onwards. A fragment of rubble walling dating from the early thirteenth century is to be found north east of the church. This was formerly part of one of the conventual buildings of the abbey and is shown on Raven’s 1625 map of Bangor. The abbey was dissolved in 1542 and then burned during Sir Thomas Smith’s attempted colonization of the Ards in 1572. (Archaeological Survey, p.265-6, Clergy of Down and Connor, p.52, Hamilton, p.3-21) On the accession of James 1, lands including Bangor were granted to Sir James Hamilton, whose memorial, by Peter Scheemakers, is situated in the south transept (Potterton, p.76-7). Hamilton rebuilt the abbey as a parish church in 1617, incorporating parts of the earlier building, the work being completed in 1623. The tomb of the master mason William Stennors who was responsible for the rebuilding, can be seen at the entrance to the vestry. The newly rebuilt parish church is shown on Raven’s 1625 plan of Bangor as a simple nave with tower attached. (Clergy of Down and Connor, p.52-3) The tower is largely fifteenth century but the upper portion was raised or rebuilt when the spire was added in 1693. The interior of the tower bears two inscriptions, to the north, ‘This steeple was raised anno 1693 IO BLACKWOOD IO CLEELAND Church wardens’ and on the south, ‘Francis Anesly ivner gave toward y raising of this steeple 5 pounds 1693’. The west tower-arch was blocked and a door and window inserted, also in 1693. (Archaeological Survey, p.265) The church was largely rebuilt in the nineteenth century. According to Lewis, “In attempting to enlarge it, in 1832, the foundation was so much disturbed by injudicious excavations that it was found necessary to take it down, with the exception of the tower; and a spacious and handsome structure, in the later style of English architecture, was erected in the following year, at an expense of £935, which was defrayed by the parishioners, aided by subscriptions to a considerable amount from some of the landed proprietors.” In 1833 the area was being surveyed for the first edition Ordnance Survey map and the new church is depicted on this map. The Townland Valuation lists the ‘church, yard and burying ground’ which is valued at £28. (Lewis, p.183) According to the Diocesan history the chancel and transepts were added in 1844, the architect mostly likely being William Farrell who was then architect to the Board of First Fruits. The enlarged church is shown on the second edition OS map of 1858 and is listed in Griffith’s Valuation as a church and yard valued at £50 and £2 for the yard. When the new parish church of Saint Comgall was built in 1882 as a response to Bangor’s growth as a resort and commuter town, the Abbey was largely abandoned, although there are no changes in its valuation in Annual Revisions. In 1917, as Bangor’s population continued to expand, the church was restored and reopened. The Irish Builder noted in this year that the renovations included removing a gallery above the entrance door, enlarging the doorway from the porch into the main building and erecting a screen porch behind the front doors. An old doorway in the tower was re-opened to form an entrance to the vestry and some headstones and memorials were removed to more prominent positions. In 1941, Bangor parish was divided and Bangor Abbey became a parish church once again. (Clergy of Down and Connor, p.53, Patton, p.3, Irish Builder) A major renovation programme took place at the church in 1960/61, when it was re-roofed and re-floored. The chancel was extended and the east window replaced by a mural, the work of Kenneth Webb. In addition, the ceiling over the crossing was raised, the floor of the South transept was lowered to provide additional seating accommodation and the organ was moved to the back of the church. (Clergy of Down and Connor, p.52-3) Some small additions to the church building were made c1995 under the supervision of Hobart and Heron (Brett, p.30). References: Primary Sources 1.PRONI OS/6/3/2/1 – First Edition OS Map 1833 2.PRONI OS/6/3/2/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858 3.PRONI OS/6/3/2/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1901 4.PRONI OS/6/3/2/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-26 5.PRONI OS/6/3/2/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1939 6.PRONI VAL/1/A/3/2 – Townland Valuation Map (1828-40) 7.PRONI VAL/1/B/31 – Townland Valuation (1828-40) 8.PRONI VAL/2/B/3/2 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64) 9.PRONI VAL/12/B/23/7A-K – Annual Revisions (1866-99) 10.PRONI VAL/12/B/23/9A-S – Annual Revisions (1900-1930) 11.PRONI VAL/12/E/129/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plans (c.1864-1899) 12.PRONI VAL/12/E/129/2 – Annual Revisions Town Plans (1898-c.1916) 13.Irish Builder, Vol 59, December 22, 1917 Secondary Sources 1.Brett, C.E.B. “Buildings of North County Down” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002 2.Hamilton, Rev James “Bangor Abbey Through Fourteen Centuries” 1958 3.Lewis, Samuel. “A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland” London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837. 4.Ministry of Finance, Government of Northern Ireland “An Archaeological Survey of County Down” Belfast: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1966 5.NIEA file – HB23/07/004 6.Patton, M, “Bangor, An Historical Gazetteer” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1999 7.Potterton, H “Irish Church Monuments, 1570-1880” Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1975 8.Rankin, F., Leslie, Canon, J.B., Swanzy, Dean H.B. “Clergy of Down and Dromore” Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1996 9.www.stonedatabase.com

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Double height Gothic Revival church with early monastic origins, largely rebuilt c.1830 with surviving 15th century tower and spire built in 1693. Following major restoration to the main body of the church c.1960, much of the internal historic fabric has been lost. The foundation of a monastery on the site c.550 and the early tower, a rare example of its kind, add to its interest. As a whole, it is a good example of the changing but continuous occupation of a significant religious site.

General Comments

Renumbered as HB23/07/004A was previously HB23/07/004

Date of Survey

20 August 2010