Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/19/012

Address :
St. Augustine's Church Palace Street Londonderry County Londonderry BT48 6PS

Townland:
Londonderry

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
25/05/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
36-8NW

IG Ref:
C4328 1660

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Owner Category

Church - C of I

Exterior Description And Setting

Free-standing neo-Gothic stone three-bay gabled Church of Ireland of 1872. Built of un-coursed squared whinstone with red sandstone dressings. Set behind a low stone boundary wall with wrought-iron railings above, (replaced in 1936), on the West of the city walls fronting onto Grand Parade within the ancient triangular churchyard with sycamore trees, the site of the Augustinian abbey. Front elevation faces West with a gateway, piers and tiled avenue leading to the main entrance. Bell-cote, geometric tracery circular window with wide hood moulding and stone carved head-stops, lean-to slated roof spanning the entire West elevation with projecting gabled entrance porch. Corbel brackets to eaves with slated pitched roof.Central gothic-arched doorway flanked by red granite columns, hood moulding with foliated label stops, with quatrefoil circular opening above and cross finial apse end. Gabled chancel to East elevation facing onto Palace Street, with large gothic-arched chancel window, containing geometric tracery with two cusped lancets, two cinquefoil-cusped and a single quatrefoil light above. Barony Glen sandstone coping, with kneeler stone at eaves and cross finial to apse end. North elevation faces onto graveyard, three diamond pane lead lattice plate tracery windows to nave aisle; small extension to East end with lean-to slated roof and gabled central bay with single trefoil head lancet. Trefoil cusped lancet to chancel wall on north elevation. South elevation faces onto church hall, four plate tracery windows to nave aisle, slated hipped roof extension to East end containing Vestry with conservation roof light and shoulder headed door opening with chamfered surround. Setting: Set on a triangular plot, east of City Wall, surrounded by its graveyard, trees and low stone boundary wall with wrought-iron railings, front entrance due west onto Grand Parade and East gable set hard on Palace Street. Materials: Roof Natural Slate RWG Cast Iron Walling Whinstone / Sandstone Windows Plate Tracery

Architects

Ferguson, John Guy

Historical Information

St. Augustine’s Church, a mid-Victorian Church of Ireland located on the west side of Londonderry’s historic walls, was constructed in 1871-72, but the church that was erected at that time is only the most recent in a number of religious buildings to be built on the site. Ó Baoill records that the history of St. Augustine’s Church extends back to the city’s medieval period. In the Annals of the Four Masters and the 1166 entry of the Annals of Ulster, the first
references are made to the Duibreiclés Coluim Cille (the black seminary of Colum Cille) or Dubh Regles (‘Black Abbey’) that was situated in the current vicinity of St. Augustine’s Church. Local tradition states that it was St. Columba who originally founded the Augustinian Abbey in 546, however there is no documentary evidence to support this belief; what is certain is that the Dubh Regles continued to stand (in varying forms) from the 12th century until the Plantation of Ulster in the early-17th century,when it was used by the original planters as their church until Saint Columb's Cathedral was completed in 1633. Ó Baoill suggests that ‘[Columba’s] original church was probably rebuilt as an Augustinian Priory in the medieval period, and [the current layout of] Magazine Street may have developed as the route of an ancient pilgrimage or turas leading up to it’ (Ó Baoill, pp 57-77). With the end of the Nine Years War (1594-1603) the former monastic settlement of Derry had been severely affected by conflict with the majority of its religious buildings lying derelict and damaged; with the establishment of the first fortified town under the command of Sir. Henry Docwra, the abandoned Dubh Regles was occupied by his troops and utilised as a hospital and storehouse. The church buildings, purported to be the Dubh Regles, were first depicted on early-17th century maps of Londonderry drawn up as part of the Plantation of Ulster; Raven’s 1611 map, which was the first to depict the proposed walled settlement, recorded that the ecclesiastical buildings continued to stand at that time and would have been incorporated into the south-west corner of the new town. Following the construction of the walls between 1613 and 1619, the church buildings were depicted on the 1619, 1622 and 1625 plans of Derry; these plans firmly placed the supposed Augustinian Abbey in the area between Bishop Street and Society Street where St. Augustine’s Church now stands (Ó Baoill). The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1837) record that prior to the construction of St. Columb’s Cathedral in 1628-33 (see HB01/19/001) ‘Derry was without a place of worship capable of accommodating even its then scanty population’ and so the settlers were forced to meet in ‘a part of the old ruined Church of St. Augustine, which had been repaired, being the only building appropriated to the service of religion’ (OSM, p. 103). Little is known of the history of the buildings between 1633 and the mid-18th century, the site was simply captioned ‘old church yard’ on Nevill’s 1689 plan. Lacey notes that the building continued to stand until the mid-18th century, and St. Augustine’s Church website claims that the Presbyterian population of Londonderry until the erection of their first Meeting House; the history of the Presbyterian occupation of the church is unclear as the records pertaining to the early history of First Derry Presbyterian were destroyed in a fire (Lacey, pp 105-106; St. Augustine’s Church website). The Ordnance Survey memoirs record that the former church was demolished and rebuilt under Bishop William Barnard (1696-1768) who was Bishop of Derry and Raphoe between 1744 and his death in 1768 (Oxford DNB). The memoirs described the new church (which was built as a chapel-of-ease to St. Columb’s Cathedral) as ‘a plain rectangular building adjacent to the city wall. The eastern window is semi-circular, and the side windows nearly so. The chapel contains accommodation for about 240 persons’ (OSM, pp 107-108). This church continued to stand until the 1870s and was depicted on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps as a simple rectangular shaped building; the contemporary Townland Valuations (1831) recorded the measurements of the church at 38 by 25 feet and 25 feet in height and set the rateable value of the building at £69 17s. The value of the church was lowered to £45 by Griffith’s Valuation (1856), however it was increased to £75 in 1872 after the current church building was erected. Having stood for over a century, St. Augustine’s Church was completely rebuilt in 1871-72 to a design by John Guy Ferguson. The official architect to the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Raphoe from 1868, Ferguson designed the current church building in a 13th century medieval style intended to emulate the original appearance of the Dubh Regles. The new church was built on the foundations of Barnard’s 18th century and was consecrated on 11th June 1872; the builders contracted to construct the building were George & F. Ferguson and the Natural Stone Database notes that locally quarried Derry Schist and Scottish Sandstone was employed as masonry. The Chancel windows, by London-based glazers Usher & Kelly, were added to the church in 1874 (Irish Builder, p. 184; Natural Stone Database; DIA). The value of St. Augustine’s remained at £75 until 1884 when the adjoining redbrick schoolhouse was constructed, raising the combined value of the site to £100 at which it remained during the First Revaluation in 1935. The UAHS guide for Londonderry records that repairs to St. Augustine’s were carried out in 1936 by William Smith, diocesan architect of Derry and Raphoe; in that year the boundary wall and railings were replaced and a new pulpit, communion table and lectern set up within the church (UAHS, p. 26). Later additions to the church include the construction of the adjoining single-storey church hall in the mid-20th century. The total rateable value of the Church and its hall stood at £272 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72). In 1970 the UAHS guide described St. Augustine’s Church as ‘a neo-Gothic thirteen century style [church], with a fine chancel arch. It possesses a small bell cote and the main entrance faces to the walls. The interior is simple, with plastered walls and varnished hammer beam roof trusses’ (UAHS). The First Survey records that the bell cote was destroyed in 1970 after being struck by lightning; the strike also damaged the gable wall of the church. St. Augustine’s Church was subsequently listed in 1976. During the Northern Ireland Troubles the church on the walls was the target of frequent sectarian attacks and, due to the shifting of the Protestant population to the waterside in 1969-79, the congregation diminished in numbers during this period, however the Newsletter records that the congregation has regained its old strength and currently has a congregation of 230 families. References Primary Sources 1. Thomas Raven’s plans of Londonderry (1611; 1619; 1622; 1625) 2. Nevill’s plan of Londonderry (1689) 3. PRONI OS/6/5/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1830) 4. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853) 5. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/14 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873) 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/547A-F – Townland Valuations (1831) 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16C – Griffith’s Valuation (1856) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/11A-11ZD – Annual Revisions (1860-1897) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/1A-1B – Annual Revisions (1897-1929) 10. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/11 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935) 11. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/14 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 12. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Londonderry (1837) 13. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) 14. Irish Builder (1 Jul 1872) 15. First Survey Record – HB01/19/012 (1970) 16. First Survey Image – HB01/19/012 (1975) 17. NIEA HB Records – HB01/19/012 18. Newsletter (20 Apr 2013) Secondary Sources 1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013. 2. Ferguson, W. S; Rowan, A. J; Tracey, J. J., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in and near the city of Derry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1970. 3. Lacey, B., ‘Siege city: The story of Derry and Lononderry’ Belfast: The Blackstaff Press, 1990. 4. Lacey, B., ‘Discover Derry’ Londonderry: The Guildhall Press, 2011. 5. Ó Baoill, R., ‘Island city: The archaeology of Derry – Londonderry’ Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2013. 6. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/ 2. Natural Stone Database - http://www.stonedatabase.com//stone_types.cfm?stc=45 3. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=1458&back=&version=2004-09 4. St. Augustine’s Church website - http://www.saintaugustines.co.uk/index.php/our-history

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

A simple nineteenth century stone church adjacent to the City Wall on the west, originally built as a small Palladian chapel under Bishop Bernard in 1750, the present building to the designs of John Guy Ferguson replaced the previous structure in 1871-72. The history of St. Augustine’s Church at this location extends back to the city’s medieval period, and is of interest as the location of the 'Dubh Regles' (Black Abbey,1166) through to early 17th century as the original Planters church. The original plan form is intact together with many fine interior features. The current building and its unique setting, given the close proximity to the Cathedral and its boundary walls, railings and gates that add further interest, is one of the most significant buildings within the Historic Walled City Conservation Area. Some seventeenth and eighteenth century table gravestones populate the tree fringed churchyard.

General Comments

Date of Survey

19 February 2014