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The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) invites you to attend an architect-led tour of St. Patrick's Church in Newtownards at 2pm on 14 September 2024. The tour will be delivered by Stephen Salley of HBK Architects. There is no charge to attend, but pre-booking is essential.
'If stones could speak', this is exactly what the inherent vision for the recent Restoration of St. Patrick's Church encapsulates. This wonderful Victorian ecclesiastical edifice with its treasured provenance reveals the architectural astuteness of that great exponent of the Liturgical context, Joseph Hansom (of the patented Hansom cab) who was approached by Lady Elizabeth, the wife of Frederick the 4th Marquis of Londonderry in the mid 1870's, to design a Catholic Parish Church for Newtownards on an elevated site in North Street and thus began a partnership that, like a fireworks display, would reach across the decades. The great architecture of the Parish Church on completion, was indeed described by Joseph Hansom as a 'Cathedral in miniature' which coincided with his work of Arundel Cathedral. Elizabeth's desire to build the Church at her own expense also reveals her own personal faith journey and this organic building was born, evidencing the crafts and expertise in skills that show true creative longevity. A place of prayer for the Parish and for guests of the family who came from all over Europe and beyond, then, and now.
The Parish Church of St. Patrick's in Newtownards was Solemnly opened, and the Altar dedicated on the 24 October 1877, an auspicious day which marked a new chapter in the long history of the Parish. The Church of Our Lady of the Visitation in Comber had been dedicated five years earlier in 1872. Lady Elizabeth endowed St. Patrick's Church in Newtownards with many of the liturgical furnishings and fittings. The reredos was made of marble, with a fine altar of Caen stone, pitch pine seating, a fine pulpit which wrapped itself around a pillar, and more besides. The sandstone pillars stand tall and proud, island like and surrounded by the seating all hand carved. The Lantern tower, particularly English in style, shows the elegance of height and majesty, the rose window, a typical feature of a Hansom design and the simplicity and profundity of the stain glass with intricate designs which plays with the changing light and seasons.
The Church has undergone several renovations in the 1960's with Vatican II and again in 1988. It was in 2020 that the restoration began after several years of preparation, planning and research. Indeed, there was a clear vision on the part of the Parish Priest Fr. Martin O'Hagan among others that was truly about that increasing possibility of realising a dream in which the Church would be returned to its Victorian integrity while assimilating the earlier renovations.
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Guide Prices
| Ticket Type | Ticket Tariff |
|---|---|
| Ticket | Free |
Note: Prices are a guide only and may change on a daily basis.
