Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB05/01/007

Address :
Church of St Patrick and St Brigid Garron Road Glenariff Ballymena Co. Antrim

Townland:
Carrivemurphy

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
21/06/1990 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:
35/2NW

IG Ref:
D2520 2458

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Owner Category

Church - RC

Exterior Description And Setting

Free-standing gable-fronted seven-bay double-height stone Gothic Revival Roman Catholic church, erected c.1917, to the designs of W.J. Moore. Rectangular on plan facing southwest with apsidal chancel to rear and vestry block to the south east corner. Pitched natural slate roof with roll-moulded terracotta ridge tiles set behind slightly raised front gable with sandstone coping and gableted kneeler stones. Replacement cast-iron guttering to chamfered ashlar eaves course and cast-iron downpipes. Uncoursed rock-faced red sandstone ashlar walling with pale sandstone dressings including; chamfered trim to projecting stone plinth course and offsets to stepped buttresses. Round-headed window openings formed in chamfered smooth sandstone ashlar with flush splayed sills and steel-framed windows with Art Nouveau leaded coloured glazing and storm glazing. Gable-fronted southwest front elevation surmounted by gabled bellcote having cross finial and metal bell set within round-headed arch. Tripartite front elevation defined by stepped buttresses having a rose window to the centre and projecting gabled entrance porches to either side. Large pale sandstone rose window with leaded coloured glazing and storm glazing set within an arched recess having three decoratively carved sandstone square panels below. Triple-arched window opening at ground floor level with leaded coloured glass windows. The entrance porches comprise a chamfered round-headed door opening with replacement vertically-sheeted hardwood doors, sandstone coping surmounted by cross finial. The doors open onto stone platform and step with steel handrails to front area. Northwest nave elevation is six windows wide with a further vestibule bay to the right. The vestibule bay has a full-height round-headed recess with a circular pale sandstone panel and sandstone dressed loophole window below. Gabled rear elevation filled with slightly lower semi-circular chancel having semi-conical roof and three elevated round-headed window openings with leaded stained glazing. Southeast nave elevation as per northwest nave elevation with a diminutive single-bay single-storey vestry block attached to the south east corner having pitched natural slate roof and chimneystack and square-headed door and window openings with chamfered sandstone lintels, single-pane timber sash windows and sheeted timber door. Setting: Located on a slightly elevated small sloping site on the south side of Garron Road enclosed by low rendered wall and steel gates hung on square rendered piers. Roof Natural slate RWG Cast-iron Walling Uncoursed rock-faced red sandstone ashlar Windows Steel-frame, leaded coloured glass or stained glass

Architects

Historical Information

The Church of St. Patrick and St. Brigid, a sandstone Roman Catholic church located along the Garron Road in the townland of Carrivemurphy, was constructed in 1916-17. The church replaced an earlier chapel that stood near the site but had been destroyed by a fire in 1915. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1830-38) noted that the Roman Catholic population of the parish of Ardclinis stood at 1,288 during the early-19th century. Local tradition held that a church would not stand in the parish and during the ‘Night of the Big Wind’ (6th January 1839) the roof was blown off the unfinished building. The original chapel was known as the church of St. Killian and was opened on 15th September 1839 (OSM; Dallat). The Church of St. Killian was located within the graveyard to the west of the current church and first appeared on the second edition Ordnance Survey map (1857) which depicted it along a rectangular layout possessing a south-facing projection. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859) noted that the chapel was constructed on land leased by the Earl of Antrim and was valued at £15 and 5 shillings. There was little change to the layout or value of the Church of St. Killian until the summer of 1915 when the building was accidently destroyed by a fire. The current Church of St. Patrick and St. Brigid was constructed between 1916 and 1917 to designs by William J. Moore (c. 1873-1921), a Belfast-based architect who was also responsible for the design of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church (HB05/02/010) in the village of Cushendall. The new church was constructed to the east of the original chapel and was designed along a simple rectangular layout that consisted of a nave, an apsidal chancel and a small belfry. Tenders were invited for the construction of the building in July 1916 with the Thornbury Brothers of Belfast contracted as builders. The NIEA HB Records note that the building’s sandstone likely originated from a quarry in the townland of Knocknacarry, the three stained glass windows located in the chancel were designed by Michael Healy (1873-1941) of Dublin, whilst the church bell was manufactured in the famous Matthew Byrne Foundry, also of Dublin. The completed church was opened on 1917 and was increased in value to £65 under the Annual Revisions (DIA; NIEA HB Records). Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the value of the church was raised to £130, however this was reduced to £116 by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72). In 1972 the UAHS Guide for the Glens of Antrim described the Church of St. Patrick and St. Brigid in the following terms: ‘A simple stone church, without spire or tower – a modest belfry only – with round headed windows, the interior simple and pleasing, with good modern mosaic in the apse behind the altar’ (UAHS guide, p. 28). The church was listed in 1990. The NIEA HB Records note that the church underwent an extensive renovation in 1999 which included the restoration of its sandstone and stained glass windows (NIEA HB Records). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/20/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/20/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/20/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1921) 5. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/38 – Griffith’s Valuation (c. 1859) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/7A-E – Annual Revisions (1864-1929) 7. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/21 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 8. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/35 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 9. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Antrim IV, Vol. 13 (1830-38) 10. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918) 11. Irish Builder (20 Jan; 31 Mar 1917) 12. First Survey Record – HB05/01/007 (1971) 13. NIEA HB Record – HB05/01/007 Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972. 2. Dallat, C., ‘The road to the Glens’ Belfast: The Friar’s Bush Press, 1989. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

Free-standing gable-fronted seven-bay stone Gothic Revival Roman Catholic church, erected c.1917. Built in a largely nineteenth-century idiom, the standard appearance is greatly enlivened by the dramatic coastal setting and some impressive mosaics and stained glass to the interior. The focal point of a coastal settlement known as Glenariff, the church stands as the most conspicuous structure in the bay.

General Comments

Date of Survey

28 April 2015