Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB18/17/001

Address :
Loughinisland C of I parish church Newcastle Road Seaforde Naghan Downpatrick BT30 8PL

Townland:
Naghan

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
09/11/1976 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:
223/16

IG Ref:
J4065 4211

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Owner Category

Church - C of I

Exterior Description And Setting

Relatively simple single storey gothic (C of I) church with tower and nave of 1720, spire of c.1820, and transepts and chancel of c.1860s. The building is set on a slight rise, at the end of a tree lined drive, on the E side of the Newcastle Road, just N of the small village of Seaforde. The rise on which the building is set is believed to have been the site of a Medieval church. The three-storey tower is centred on the W face. To the base of the W side is a timber door set within a simple pointed arch opening with moulded dripstone and label stops. The six-panel timber door has ‘Y’ gothic tracery to the framing and chamfered stone dressings to the opening. To the first and second floors are single pointed arch openings each with ‘Y’ tracery framing. That to first floor has small diamond panes while that to second floor has timber louvers. The S face of the tower is identical to that to the W. The N face is similar but for the omission of the door to ground floor. The E face abuts the main gable and is mainly obscured. To the second floor is a louvered window opening as before. The top of the tower is castellated with a ‘minaret’ feature with crockets to each corner. An octagonal, copper clad spire surmounts the tower. The tower covers the most of the main W gable of the church proper. To left and right the exposed cheeks are blank. The S elevation has two paired tall lancet windows. The pair to the left has small diamond panes with ‘hopper’ ventilators while that to the right has stained glass. To the far right is the projecting gable of the S transept. Centred on the transept gable are two tall lancet windows (slightly shorter and more widely spaced than before) with stained glass. Surmounting the lancet windows is a small glazed trefoil feature. The exposed W face of the transept is blank. The rear (E) elevation is complex. To the centre of the main gable is a gabled chancel extension which has a large semicircular-headed leaded window. This return has a small buttress to either side. To the left of the chancel extension is a further gabled extension which houses the vestry. Centred on this extension is a pointed arch headed door with chamfered stone dressings and a plain sheeted door with strap hinges. Surmounting the door is a small glazed trefoil feature. To the far left of the S face of the vestry extension are a pair of lancet windows with diamond panes. The S face of the chancel extension is blank. The N elevation of the church proper is broadly similar to that to the S but two minor extensions have been added: a small leanto porch was added to the E face of the N transept, and a very small leanto extension was added to the left of centre of the N face of the same transept. The roofs are covered with Bangor Blue slate and rw goods are cast iron. The gables have stone parapets. The roofs to the transepts are slightly lower than the main roof. The roofs to the chancel is slightly lower again while the roof to the vestry is slightly lower again. The walls are finished with plain unpainted render. To the roadside are a set of wrought iron gates set with sandstone pillars which are surmounted by shallow pyramidal caps. To either side are curved railings, a further two smaller rendered pillars and a wrought iron pedestrian gate to the N side.

Architects

Welland & Gillespie

Historical Information

This church was built in 1720 by local landowners the Forde family. Prior to this the Protestant and Catholic congregations had both used the old (c.15th century) north church at Loughinisland. Apparently, one particularly wet Sunday in c.1720, the Catholic worshippers remained in the old church after Mass in order to shelter from the rain, thus keeping their Protestant counterparts outside. This so annoyed the members of the Forde family, that they had the old church largely dismantled, using the roof timbers for this new church at Seaforde! The original church building is believed to have merely consisted of the nave and tower. The spire was added in the early 1800s, for the OS Memoirs of 1836 state that it was ‘of recent construction’. The transepts and chancel date from the 1860s and are the work of the then Diocesan architects, Welland and Gillespie. The original 1720 roof timbers taken from the older parish church have been replaced. In many respects the building of this church marks the beginning of the modern village of Seaforde (or ‘Naghan’ as it was originally known), for one year after its construction the Fordes obtained a patent from King George I enabling a market to be held within village, and many of the leases of plots along the two main streets date from the 1720s onwards. The site on which the church stands is said (by Rev. O’Laverty) to have been originally occupied by a medieval [?early Christian] church. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI D.366 Forde papers [Leases, rentals etc. 1714-1876] 2 ‘Taylor’s and Skinner’s maps of the roads of Ireland’ (Dublin 1777), map 284 3 PRONI OS/6/3/37/1 OS map, Down sh 37, 1834 4 PRONI VAL/1B/387 1st valuation, Loughinisland, 1836 5 PRONI VAL/1D/3/19 Valuation plan of Seaforde, 1836-38 6 PRONI 2nd valuation, Loughinisland, c.1860 [in print] 7 PRONI VAL/2D/3/14 Valuation plan of Seaforde, c.1860 8 PRONI OS/8/152/1 OS plan of Seaforde, 1904 9 PRONI VAL/3G/95/1 Valuation plan of Seaforde, 1935-56 References- Secondary sources 1 Walter Harris ‘The ancient and present state of the County of Down’ (Dublin 1744, reprint 1980s) 2 Rev O’Laverty ‘An historical account of the Diocese of Down and Connor’ vol.I (Dublin 1878) 3 ‘Archaeological survey of Co Down’ (Belfast HMSO 1966), p.336 4 ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings….East Down’ (Belfast UAHS 1973), p.29 5 R.S.J. Clarke ‘Gravestone inscriptions vol.9’ (Belfast UHS ?1973), pp.76-85

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form F. Structural System I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance V. Authorship Z. Rarity X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Well proportioned and relatively simple single storey gothic (C of I) church with tower and nave of 1720, spire of c.1820, and transepts and chancel (by Welland & Gillespie) of c.1860s. The building is set on a slight rise, at the end of a tree lined drive and is surrounded by a graveyard. The site set is believed to have been originally occupied by a medieval or early Christian church.

General Comments

Date of Survey

17 July 2000