Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB10/01/002

Address :
St Patrick's RC Church, Church Road, Castlederg, Co Tyrone, BT81 7XZ

Townland:
Aghyaran

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
02/11/1989 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:
102-13

IG Ref:
H1893 8121

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Owner Category

Church - RC

Exterior Description And Setting

Detached double-height Roman Catholic church, built c. 1840, located to the north side of Church Road, Castlederg. Rectangular-on-plan nave with three-stage tower at east and sacristy at west. Roofs are pitched natural slate, blue/black clay ridge tiles; saddleback stone verges with cross-gabled ends; cast-iron ogee profile rainwater goods supported on Lombard frieze. Walls are smooth rendered with stepped masonry quoins and projecting chamfered plinth; pointed-arched-headed Y-tracery windows with chamfered mullions, stained glass and external secondary glazing contained within stepped chamfered surround with moulded hoodmould and label stops; splayed moulded cills. Principal elevation faces east and is abutted at centre by three-stage tower; exposed section contains stained glass oculus at each side contained within smooth rendered surround surmounted by hoodmould with label stops. Tower walls are roughly coursed squared-and-snecked rubble with angle buttresses and off
setting. Entrances are located at both the north and south elevations; rebated pointed-arched-headed openings with hoodmould and label stops containing replacement double-leaf timber sheeted doors and stained glass fanlight over. Door at south surmounted by blank stone shield plaque; central panel/datestone now removed. Second stage contains keyed oculus with lattice glazing to each elevation. Third stage contains paired pointed-arched-headed timber louvred belfry openings at each elevation; tower terminates with parapet; three carved merlons at each elevation, that at centre surmounted by stone carved Celtic cross; flanking merlons contain pointed-arched-headed panel. South elevation is five windows wide. West gable is abutted at centre by single-storey sacristy detailed as nave; exposed section contains two pointed-arched-headed louvred openings and cross finial to apex. Sacristy is detailed as nave with stained-glass pointed-arched- headed windows unless otherwise stated; south elevation contains entrance at left; pointed-arched-headed stained glass window at right. Entrance is via a replacement timber sheeted door contained within stepped surround and hoodmould over; accessed by three masonry steps. West elevation is blank; north elevation contains two windows. North elevation is five windows wide. Set on a roadside location with church graveyard to north; the site is bounded at south by roughcast rendered wall with moulded saddleback coping; pedestrian access at west via wrought-iron gate supported on square smooth rendered piers with saddleback coping; vehicular access at east via cast-iron gate supported on smooth rendered and chamfered octagonal piers with pointed octagonal caps. Stone font located at south-east corner of site. Car park and former outbuildings located at south of Church Road; Outbuilding at west with rubble stone walls, dressed stone quoins, two circular openings on east and west elevations and natural slate roof. East elevation has original metal circular windows. Accessed by plainly detailed cast-iron gates on concrete piers. Roof Natural slate Walling Smooth render with stepped masonry quoins and projecting chamfered plinth Windows Pointed-arched-headed Y-tracery windows with chamfered mullions, stained glass and external secondary protective glazing. RWG Cast-iron ogee profile

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

A memorial stone over the main door of the tower states that the church was begun in 1840, dedicated in 1844, and enlarged in 1856, when the tower was added. The church appears largely intact in plan form; however the exterior character has been degraded slightly due to cosmetic changes when interior refurbishments were also carried out. It was built on the site of an earlier church. A simple rectangular ‘R C Chapel’ is captioned on the 1833 OS Map but by the 1853 edition this has been replaced by a new church also captioned ‘R C Chapel’ with a sacristy projecting from the western elevation. A ‘Grave Yard’ is also captioned. A house nearby captioned ‘Derg Lodge’ is the property of Sir Robert Ferguson Bt. at this time. On the 1907 OS Map the church is captioned ‘St Patrick’s R C Church’ and ‘Grave Yard’ and the nearby lodge is captioned ‘Parochial House’. Townland Valuations (1828-40) value the old ‘Roman Catholic Chapel’ at £3 17s. This entry is then deleted and the new chapel is valued at £28 18s. Dimensions are given of 88x34x20 for the chapel itself, 14x21x15 for the sacristy and 15x16x50 – evidently a tower which has gone by the 1853 map. A replacement tower appears on the 1907 OS map – the tower is dated to 1856. Griffith’s values the chapel at £18 and 15s for the yard. In the Revisions we find that the land belongs to Sir Robert A Ferguson Bt but there are no significant changes. OS Memoirs carry a description of the old church, “A Roman Catholic Chapel, situated in Aghyaran townland; it was built in 1799, and the cost, which cannot be correctly ascertained, was defrayed by the parishioners. It is a plain thatched building 120 feet long and 24 broad, affording accommodation for 900 persons. The average attendance is from 700 to 1,000. For the better convenience of the Roman Catholics living in the southern parts of the parish, mass is held in a small glen in Aghalougher townland, at which place, there is no chapel but a small shed for an altar.” (p.143) According to the parish website, “Until Fr James O’Kane came as PP 1894-1897 there were no seats on the floor of the church. He got about half of it seated, and removed a wooden pulpit which was inside the altar rails. Fr McConelogue PP 1897-1933, afterwards got the remainder of the Church seated. The seats in the gallery were private property of different families of the Parish. After he had completed the renovations work Fr McConelogue made the seats common property. From Fr. McConelogue’s coming more than one engineer condemned the roof of the church as being unsafe. In the summer of 1927, under the direction of Mr William Doherty, Architect, Derry, Fr McConelogue gave the renovation of the Church to Messrs. Sweeney, Builders and Contractors, Strand Road, Derry. As well as the new roof and new ceiling, the renovation work included the building of a new sacristy, a new sanctuary of Carrara marble (high altar, side altar and altar rails), new floors in the Church (timber) and in the Tower (concrete), and stained glass windows. The wall and gates along the road and the retaining wall behind the church were also newly built. The marble altars and one of the holy water fonts and stained glass windows were donated by people of the Parish at home and abroad. Excluding donations, Messrs. Sweeney were paid £8,478-0s-0d for cost of material, labour, and 10%.” The renovated Church was dedicated by Most Reverend Bernard O’Kane, Bishop of Derry on 8th December 1928. The Parochial House (HB10/01/008) and former hunting lodge of Sir Robert Ferguson Bt. located to south of Church Road has been demolished and replaced by a new Parochial House built c. 2005. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/6/23/1 -First Edition OS Map (1833) 2. PRONI OS/6/6/23/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1853) 3. PRONI OS/6/6/23/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1905) 4. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/23 -Townland Valuation Map (1828-40) 5. PRONI VAL/1/B/636B-D -Townland Valuation (1828-40) 6. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/23A -Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64) 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/38A -Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/35/10A-E -Annual Revision Records (1860-1929) 9. Day, A. and P. McWilliams, eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Tyrone I, 1821, 1823, 1833-36, Vol. 5.” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1990. Secondary Sources 1. Aghyaran Parish. [Internet Source]. Available from: Accessed 12th April, 2009. 2. Rowan, Alistair. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.

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

Evaluation

Detached Roman Catholic Church, built c. 1840, located to the north side of Church Road, Castlederg. Three-stage tower at east and sacristy at west of nave. The exterior has been degraded slightly due to cosmetic changes when interior refurbishments where also carried out. The interior detailing has been partially changed, however, original details remain including Y-tracery windows and panelled ceiling. The church, despite much refurbishment to the interior, remains a fine example of church architecture from the early Victorian period and makes a positive contribution to the built heritage of the local area.

General Comments

Date of Survey

01 April 2009