Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB14/12/009 A

Address :
ST. GOBHAN'S CHURCH SEAGOE ROAD PORTADOWN CO.ARMAGH

Townland:

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Survey 1:
B+

Date of Listing:
14/08/1981 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
CHURCH

Former Use
CHURCH

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:

Vernacular:

Thatched:
No

Monument:

Derelict:

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OS Map No:

IG Ref:
J0221 5519

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Owner Category

CHURCH

Exterior Description And Setting

Architects

Historical Information

Historic Information supplied by the Select Vestry of Seagoe Parish Church, January 2012. St. Gobhan’s Parish Church Seagoe, Portadown Seagoe is undoubtedly one of the most ancient Christian settlements in Ireland and is thought to date from 540 A.D. It is altogether possible that St. Gobhan, which through the years became abbreviated to Seagoe, was personally acquainted with some who had known St. Patrick. Rectors can be traced back to 1405, as can the parish births, marriages and deaths from the 17th Century, which are among the oldest surviving in the Church of Ire land. The first stone church built on the site, was built before 1609 by settlers, who came over from England with Lord Essex that was burnt down in the rebellion of 1641. A replacement church, which was built about 1666 by Valentine Blacker of Manor House, Ballynaghy, contained accommodation for 150 worshippers. Improvements were made to it in 1705 and 1755 allowing it to be used for public worship until 1816. The ruins of this church remain to this day in the grounds of Seagoe Cemetery. It served its purpose, however due to graves encroaching more and more closely to the walls of the church and the ground over the years steadily rising which resulted in going down steps to reach the level of the nave, it was decided there was a need for a new church on an entirely different site. The first stone of the present church was laid on the l June 1814 and it was completed and consecrated for worship on 28” June 1816. It consisted of a simple oblong, 70 feet by 30 feet without a chancel and the flat plaster ceiling. The date to be found on the southern side of the tower was in position above the former east window. This refers to the original construction when the Rector was Rev Stewart Blacker and the curate, his nephew, The Rev Richard Olpherts. Rev. Qlpherts had given £500 towards the building and so his initials are placed beside those of the Rector (SB-RO) under the figures for the year 1814. Several improvements were made over the following seventy years when Archdeacon Saurin was Rector. Namely:a steadily increasing gallery, which by repeated extension eventually brooded over the nave. a tower at the west end a bell was installed in 1860 a replacement of the old square pews in 1862 His successor, Dean Dawson, had the vision of something more worthy for the house of God and had the discernment to employ one of the leading architects of the day to bring it about. This architect was Mr. Thomas Drew RHA, who proceeded to transform the interior by sweeping out the gallery. lengthening the church by the addition of a chancel, adding a new vestry room adding an organ charrber converting the exist!nq vestry into a porch, building a new southern aisle The greatest glory of all constituted the construction of an opentimbered nave ceiling in place of the flat one. The soaring arches were introduced at this stage and the architect’s own words for the treatment of the roof run as follows: “The difficulties of proportions (are met) by adopting a treatment in the manner of century architects, which lends itself to lower pitched roofs and wider spans. The roofs of the nave, aisle and chancel are accordingly of a design not usual in other churches in the Diocese — a four centred arch frame, springing from hammer-beams end all richly moulded and peculiarly massive and bearing character of old examples of 15th century English roofs. They will he pitched pine, left untouched after the carpenter’s tools, without varnishing, it being found that pitch pine, treated in the way, assumes in time an appearance as pleasing as that of old oak. The old vestry on the north became a spacious and imposing porch, encased and adorned with cut stone dressing, buttresses and pinnacles. The windows of the new additions, as well as the old open/n s in the nave, will he large and handsome traceried stone windows, designed in the same consistent ‘perpendicular” style as the rest of the work, and specially adapted for effective tilting with stained glass. Dum fries Red Sandstone is used for the windows and other portions of wrought iron externally and Bath stone for the interior.” The Baroness von Steiglitz aid the foundation stone for the chanc& on 11th April 1890 and the church was reopened for public worship on 7th August 1891. It is an interestn, fact that the East Window in Armagh Cathedral is a copy of that in Seagoe and that he desiçn for the mosaic tiling in the chancel was derived from a Norse or Danish coin discovered on the breast of a body found lying in the crypt of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin an architectural reference to the suppased Viking origin of the Blacker family.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Historic Interest

Evaluation

General Comments

Date of Survey