Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB16/22/045

Address :
Church of SS Peter and Paul Chapel Road Bessbrook Co. Armagh

Townland:
Maghernahely

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
07/03/2018 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
266/1NW

IG Ref:
J0436 2860

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Owner Category

Church - RC

Exterior Description And Setting

Freestanding double-height Roman Catholic church, built c.1870, refurbished c.1950, located at the junction of Chapel Road and Church Road, Bessbrook. Cruciform on plan, unconventionally oriented with chancel to west; gabled porches to N elevation of nave, and E elevation of each transept; flat-roofed confessional outshots to W elevation of each transept, and S elevation of nave; side-chapel outshot to N side of nave. Pitched slate roof with stone verges having cross finials to transepts, profiled aluminium gutters on projecting eaves. East gable projects to centre, rising with granite offsets to ashlar granite bellcote with cross finial, chamfered pointed arched aperture with bell. Walling is painted render with plinth and rendered quoins. Windows are replacement leaded lattice with central stained glass panels (c.1950) with external secondary glazing, rendered reveals and painted masonry cills. Tripartite Y-tracery pointed arched windows to cardinal points, otherwise lancets. East gable (nave) has quoined breakfront to centre, topped with the bellcote and having a single window with stone quatrefoil over. S elevation comprises nave, lit by three lancets, and south transept, which has a window to S and is otherwise lit by two lancets to E and one to W. E porch has a pointed arched door opening with replacement double-leaf varnished timber doors and access ramp. N elevation (transepts) is centrally abutted by the chancel, which is lit by the W window and a small pointed arched window to each cheek. It is further abutted to S by a single-storey flat-roofed vestry (c.1950) with multi-paned metal-framed windows and parapet. Transepts are each lit by two windows to W. N elevation is as S. Setting: Set back from Chapel Road, slightly elevated to E, set on a paved platform accessed by five steps to NE and SE, with shrubs and small ornamental trees to either side. Tarmac parking area to E, bounded to road by a reconstructed stone-faced boundary wall with original rendered gate piers having cusped Gothic panels, gableted and finialled caps, and supporting original cast-iron vehicular and pedestrian gates. There is a two-storey residence within the gates to SE (original parochial house) and a replacement parochial house (c.1980) to S. Burial ground to W. The associated Sisters of Mercy Convent and Primary School are situated a short distance to NW. Roof: Slate Walling: Render Windows: Timber RWG: Aluminium

Architects

Historical Information

The Church of SS Peter and Paul, Bessbrook first appears, captioned, on the third edition OS map of c.1900. The village of Bessbrook was constructed around 1845 by the Richardson family, to accommodate workers at the Richardson's linen mill. Defined as a 'model' village, it was to have no public house, and consequently no police barracks or pawn shop. The Roman Catholic Church of S.S. Peter and Paul is one of five places of worship in or close to the village (the Presbyterian Church and Church of Ireland are located close by and are listed). It was constructed on the behest of Parish Priest the Reverend Michael McKevitt, built to the designs of architect Richard Hynes of Newry. Although the lease was not in fact granted until 1869, by landowner Mr. John Grubb Richardson, who gave permission to erect a chapel “for the celebration of divine worship according to the Rites of the Roman Catholic Church on payment of a yearly rent of twenty pounds,” McKevitt had begun constructing the church some nine months earlier, with the foundation stone being laid on 28th June 1868 by Primate Kieran. Father McKevitt died in March 1874. Having completed much of the construction work by this time, his successor Father Charles Quin completed the interior and the church was dedicated in 1875. In 1883 a new gallery was constructed, again to the designs of architect Richard Hynes. Canon Quin died on May 4th 1925 and was succeeded by Canon Patrick Loughran who is credited with having the oil fired lighting replaced by new electric lighting in 1932, installed by Gordon’s of Armagh, and the fitting of central heating by Musgrave’s of Belfast. Canon Loughran died in 1944, succeeded by Father Patrick McKee, who was succeeded in 1947 by Father Vincent Mallon. Father Mallon, aware of the poor condition of much of the church’s property in the parish, appointed architect Edward Joseph Kilpatrick to draw up a series of condition reports including one for the church in Bessbrook. The church underwent extensive refurbishment in 1953 under Father Mallon, presumably under Kilpatrick’s direction. The timber altar, pulpit and altar rails were replaced with marble. He also commissioned the mosaic work and oversaw the construction of a new vestry. Father Mallon was replaced by Father Cullen, who continued the improvement works elsewhere in the parish. Reordering took place in the early 1970s, when his successor, Father Carraher, had the altar modified and moved forward. Primary Sources 1. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6A General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1866-1879 2. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6C General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1879-1882 3. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6E General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1883-1894 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6G General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1894-1909 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6H General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1809-1920 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/5A General Valuation of Ireland, General Revisions 1924-1929 Secondary Sources 7. Mulligan, Kevin V., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster: Armagh, Cavan and Monaghan,’ Yale University press, 2013 8. Kearns, James, ‘The Church of Saint pater and Saint Paul, Bessbrook,’ PUBLISHER, YEAR Online 9. Historic Environment Map Viewer (Historic 6" OS Map editions) 10. Dictionary of Irish Architects (http://www.dia.ie/works/view/8730/building/CO.+ARMAGH%2C+BESSBROOK%2C+CHURCH+%28RC%29)

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H+. Alterations enhancing the building I. Quality and survival of Interior

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity V. Authorship Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance X. Local Interest

Evaluation

The Church of SS Peter and Paul is a cruciform plan church, built 1870, extensively refurbished c.1950 after falling into disrepair, followed by light re-ordering in the 1970s. It retains its original external form and proportion in the restrained Gothic style typical of a rural RC church in the late nineteenth century. Internally, the church is an amalgam of original late Victorian fabric echoing the Gothic style exterior and the 1950s refurbishment. Retains raked gallery and tripartite Gothic style confessionals. The sanctuary, comprehensively embellished with high quality mosaic work of particular note and reused Victorian marble is completely of the twentieth century. The church is prominently located at a junction, and is one of five places of worship of different denominations in the model mill village of Bessbrook. Of social interest, the Church of SS Peter and Paul has served the Roman Catholic population of the village for almost 150 years and is one of a group of institutions in the village, including a school and a convent, representative of the social mission of the church in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

General Comments

Date of Survey

21 June 2017