Cathedrals and Churches of Dublin

By John Cooke, M.A., M.R.I.A.

Christ Church.gif (22275 bytes)Dublin is unique among the cities of the United Kingdom in possessing two cathedrals belonging to the same denomination. The **Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, or Christchurch, **the name by which it is best known, was originally founded in 1038 by Sigtryg, son of Aulaf, King of the Danes of Dublin.

It is the opinion of the present architect, Sir Thomas Drew, that the crypt shows the original plan, which pier for pier corresponds with the cathedral of Waterford, also a Danish foundation of the same period.

The character of Christchurch was completely altered in the years following the Anglo-Norman invasion at the instance of Laurence O’Toole, Archbishop of Dublin, and the expense of Strongbow, Fitzstephen, and Raymond le Gros.

In 1163 it had been converted into a priory, the regular order of Arrosian canons superseding the old community of secular clergy. The successors of O’Toole looked coldly tn the mixed Danish and Celtic independent establishment; and John Comyn, the first Anglo-Norman archbishop, founded a collegiate church without the city walls, and selected as a site the ancient church of St. Patrick; and in 1213 Henry do Loundres, who succeeded him, raised it to the status of a cathedral, modelled on that of Salisbury.

Jealousy and rivalry existed between the two cathedrals; but in 1300 it was settled by an ordinance from Rome “that the Convent of Holy Trinity, as being the greater, the mother, and the elder church, should have the precedence in all rights and concerns of the Church.”

It suffered many vicissitudes in the subsequent centuries, and was the scene of many interesting events in the history of the city. It served as the Chapel Royal down to 1814; and here until the sixteenth century the Lord Deputy and other officials of the State were sworn into office.

It was in Christchurch that Lamert Simnel was crowned in 1486 by the Lords of the Council, led by the Earl of Kildare, then Lord Deputy, the Bishop of Meath being the preacher on that occasion. Mass was celebrated during the time of James II in Ireland, the tabernacle and candlesticks then used being still kept in the crypt; and William III celebrated his victories with a thank-offering of a magnificent service of plate to the cathedral.

At the time of the disestablishment of the Irish Church the building was in a poor and mean condition, and shut in by an equally poor and mean mass of buildings and narrow streets. Much of these have been swept away, and the opening of Lord Edward Street in the more recent city improvements now affords an ample view of the great scheme of restoration, almost amounting to a rebuilding, due to the munificence of the late Mr. Henry Roe, a Dublin distiller. The work was carried out by Mr. George E. Street, the well-known architect; and the total cost, including endowment and the erection of the adjoining Synod House, is said to have amounted to £222,000.

On the south side lie the remains of the cloister garth of the ancient monastery excavated in 1886. The entrance to the south transept is by an old Norman doorway, removed from the north transept in 1831. From the south porch of the nave, steps lead to a covered-in bridge connecting the Cathedral with the Synod Hall and spanning the street.

The Hall stands on the site, and retains the old tower of the church of St. Michael. Of the exterior, the dressing of the transept, the clerestory windows, the turrets over the north and south side-chapels, the belfry windows of the tower, and the roof and flying buttresses are new. The Caen stone used in the work already shows signs of weathering. The stone for which it was mistaken is said to have been a Somersetshire oolite of a very durable kind, and largely used in the erection of the medieval churches in the east of Ireland.

The nave, in the developed pointed style, dates from about 1230, and shows the work of English masons of the Glastonbury school. It consists of six bays, the western one on the north side showing evidence in the archmouldings and capitals that it was a subsequent erection.

The north side is a careful restoration; and the south wall is a complete rebuilding, replacing the sixteenth-century erection by Sir Henry Sydney after the fall of it and the roof in 1562. The debris was never entirely removed until 1875. As will be noticed, this destruction caused the north wall to hang out about two feet from the perpendicular.

The west window and doorway are new, fragments of the old work being found sufficient for patterns to restore both on the original lines. The composition of the clerestory and, triforium windows within one arch was justified by Mr. Street on the grounds that he had found lines of such in the old masonry. The work has been carried out with great care and finish.

The nave and aisles were vaulted in stone; and the thrust of the roof on the north side was resisted by the flying buttresses already mentioned. The great square piers supporting the central tower were altered by the addition of clustered marble shafts, and the old low arches were cut away, and new stone-moulded arches on the present line inserted 10 feet above the apex of the vaulting of the old. This was a risky undertaking, but successfully accomplished.

Christ Church Interior1.gif (41476 bytes)The screen, which much interrupts the view of the choir and chapels, is entirely of modern design, and built on the fragmentary line of an older one. The cross which crowns it is modelled from the cross of Cong in the National Museum.

The floor is a true reproduction of the thirteenth-century tiling, taken from fragments found under the ‘refuse of the fallen roof. The Baptistery is a new feature by Mr. Street, based on details of a northern porch found at the restoration ; the stained glass is a gift in memory of his wire.

Under the third arch of the south aisle is Strongbow’s tomb, showing a recumbent figure in chain armour; the half-length effigy beside it in Purbeck marble is said to be that of his son, whom he killed for cowardice in battle. Controversy has been raised over these monuments: that Strongbow was buried in Christchurch, lying *in conspectu crucis, *we know from ancient records. The monument was broken by the fall of the roof, and restored by Sir Henry Sydney, as the tablet on the south wall relates; and it is possible that the effigy is a sixteenth-century replacement, for the arms on the shield differ from those of Strongbow. The small figure is that of a female in the twelfth-century costume.

The transepts are part of the original building, and an interesting example of the transitional style, from Norman to Early English, in the enclosure of the triforium and clerestory pointed arches within almost semicircular arches, and in the free use of chevron and other mouldings in both.

The arches in the north and south walls of the transepts were made at the restoration. The choir and eastern chapels of the original foundation were thrown into one by Archbishop John de St. Paul, in 1357, to form one long choir (102 feet); but Mr. Street restored the whole on the ancient lines.

In the chapel of St. Laud is a metal case containing a human heart, said to be that of St. Laurence O’Toole, and a reputed effigy of Basilia, sister of Strongbow. The Lady Chapel in the north-east end, long used as a church by the French refugees in the city, has been converted into chapter-room, school, and library.

The crypt is Norman work throughout, and the great strength of the vaulting was shown at the removal of the fourteenth-century choir, when it was found that some of the piers rested not on the crypt piers, but on the arching between.

In the sub-chapels are the candlesticks and tabernacles used in the celebration of mass for James II in 1689. The statues of him and Charles II, removed from the old tholsel, the city stocks, numerous monumental remains, and specimens of the old stone-work of the cathedral are also stored here.

The vaults were let for liquor and tobacco shops in the sixteenth and down to the end of the next century, which was a cause of great offence to many. The narrow passage (slype), now to be seen between the remains of the old chapter-house and the cathedral wall, had its houses, and was called “Hell”; and, by way of contrast to the name, one of the taverns in the crypt was known as “Paradise.”

Christchurch is rich in manuscripts: the Black and White Books are kept in the cathedral; but the great bulk of the documents are now in the Record Office.

St. Patrick's3.gif (20676 bytes)A** **short walk down Nicholas and St. Patrick’s Streets brings the visitor to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The whole area to the north of it was a few years ago a slum of the worst description; but through the generous, philanthropic spirit of Lord Iveagh, this has been entirely cleared away, artisans’ dwellings and the Iveagh House for working men have been erected, St. Patrick’s public park has been laid out, and the whole conveyed in trust to the city.

Tradition assigns an early church and a well to the site where the cathedral now stands, and in 1901, when excavations were being made, a cross of a ninth or tenth century type was discovered at the spot indicated by Sir Thomas Drew some dozen years before as the site of the well. A church was here at the Anglo-Norman conquest *-Ecclesia St. Patricii in Insula, *so called as it stood between the divided stream of the Poddle river, now confined underground; and here, outside the city, John Comyn founded his church, and Henry do Loundres raised it to the dignity of a cathedral, intending that it should supersede the older foundation of Christchurch.

The church and houses of the clergy were strongly enclosed, the walls having four embattled gates; but these did not prevent the frequent and successful raids of the Wicklow septs. Within the liberties of the cathedral and St. Sepulchre, the archbishops exercised complete jurisdiction; but the fortifications and manses have long since disappeared, the library and the old palace of St. Sepulchre, the residence of the archbishops for six centuries, and now a police-barrack, alone remaining.

In 1380, a portion of the nave was destroyed by fire, but restored the next year by Archbishop Minot, who also built the massive tower (117 feet), which, it will be noted, is out of square with the cathedral walls ; the spire (101 feet) was built in 1739.

The injuries of time and repeated alterations had almost destroyed the original architectural details of the whole building. Great efforts were made by the deans of the cathedral in the first half of the nineteenth century to prevent the ruin of the structure ; but it was not until 1863 that a complete restoration was undertaken, at the sole cost of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness.

St. Patrick's2.gif (43863 bytes)The cathedral is now approached by a fine roadway made at that time. The exterior of the building had suffered so much in the course of time that little of the original details was left. The south-west porch is new; the west Early English window replaces the restored (1830) perpendicular one, probably of the seventeenth century.

The north porch is new, and the north transept rebuilt, which was long used as the parish church of St. Nicholas Without. The organ chamber on the north side of the choir is entered from the east aisle of the north transept by a spiral staircase, designed by Sir Thomas Drew, after the style of one at Mayence; these were constructed in 1901 at the expense of Lord Iveagh.

The floor of the cathedral lies much below the level of the street, and under it the Poddle runs. The design of St. Patrick’s is a perfectly symmetrical Latin cross, 300 feet external measurement in length, and 156 across the transepts. The nave has eight bays, the transepts have three, and the choir has four; the last has aisles, eastern ambulatory, and lady-chapel of three bays, with aisles and two square-ended chapels

The diversity between the two cathedrals in every respect is great, and shows that they were the work of two distinct schools of builders. The nave and transepts of St. Patrick’s are mainly Early English; the lady-chapel *(circa *1270) is considered to have been the work of Archbishop Fulk do Saundford, whose effigy is in the north choir aisle.

It was carefully restored by Carpenter in 1845; it may have been modelled on that of Salisbury, and in its delicacy of design and details may be compared with contemporary work in the Temple Church, London. It was consigned to a congregation of French refugees in 1663; and here worship was held by their descendants and other settlers for 150 years.

The work of restoration within the Cathedral included the rebuilding of five bays of the south aisle of the nave and the bays of the original triforium, the south wall of the south transept, and the whole of the north transept, as already stated; the clerestory throughout was restored, and the roof of the nave and transepts, being unfit to bear great weight, were grounded in lath and plaster; the octagonal piers of the nave were encased in Caen stone; the three on the north-west side date from Minot’s work of the fourteenth century, and the arches are wider and higher than the remainder, making a break in the string-course, and causing the vaulting shafts to rise from corbels in the triforium, in place of reaching the ground as all the others do.

The absence of a reredos, however otherwise it may be missed, gives an uninterrupted and noble view of the choir and lady chapel, and is a distinct feature of this building. The entire cost of Sir Benjamin’s work was £150,000.

A further restoration was made, in 1900-1, by Lord Iveagh, who, at an expense of £30,000, completely restored the choir and its aisles, including the beautiful stone groining of the roof, and the removal of the organ from the north aisle, revealing beauties in the Early English work unseen and unknown for generations.

The chief interest of the Cathedral to many visitors lies in its connexion with Swift, who held the office of dean for thirty-two years. He and Stella lie buried at the foot of the second column from the west door, on the south side of the nave, marked by a brass-plate. His pulpit is near the south door. Near the door of the robing-room, to the left, is a bust of him by Cutriningham ; his own famous epitaph is on a slab near it, and Stella’s close by.

At the south-west corner is the baptistery with a curious font, and a case containing some ancient charters and other documents; and against its north wall in the nave is the massive monument of the “Great Eaitl” of Cork.

The cathedral is rich in memorials of all kinds: the north transept has several to the 18th Royal Irish; the north choir aisle has a tablet with an inscription by Swift to the Duke of Schomberg, styled by Macaulay “a famous libel”- a term it scarcely deserves; in the lady chapel is a chair used by William III at a thanksgiving service after the victory of the Boyne; against the south wall is the effigy of Archbishop Tregury (1471), and on the wall of the south choir aisle are four fine brasses-Sir Henry Wallop (1599), Deputy under Elizabeth; Dean Sutton (1528), Dean Fyche (1537), and Sir Ed. Fitton (1579), President of Connaught and Thomond..

The fine peal of ten bells by Taylor, of Loughborough, was a gift by Lord Iveagh; the old peal by the Purdues of Salisbury (1670) is hung in a lower chamber of the tower. On the south side of the cathedral is Marsh’s library, containing about 20,000 volumes and 200 manuscripts; the works are mostly theological, and include Stillingfleet’s collection.

The **Cathedral of St. Mary, **generally known as the “Pro-Cathedral,” is in Marlborough Street, opposite to Tyrone House. It was built (1816-25), it is said, from a design by an amateur artist in Paris, and is in the prevailing classical style.

The front is based on that of the Temple of Theseus, with a hexastyle portico of Portland stone, raised on a platform, and an entablature (which is continued round the sides) and pediment surmounted by figures of the Virgin, St. Patrick, and St. Laurence O’Toole.

The sides of the building extend for 160 feet, with a recessed portico in the centre of each, enclosed by a colonnade, and surmounted by figures. The interior consists of nave and aisles, separated by rows of heavy pillars, with an apse at the west end, containing a fine white marble altar by Turnerelli, the roof above which contains a basso-relievo of the Ascension.

In the nave are statues of Cardinal Cullen and Archbishop Murray, both by Farrell. Practically all the Roman Catholic churches in Dublin belong to the nineteenth century.

Of the medieval parochial churches,** St.** Audoen’s,** **in Corn Market, is the only one now remaining. It was founded by the Anglo-Normans, and named after St. Owen of Rouen. It consisted of a nave and south aisle and a west end tower, the aisle being a subsequent addition (1431) as a chapel in honour of St. Ann, and a continuation by FitzEustace, baron of Portlester (d. 1455). The nave is the only portion now remaining; it opened into the aisle by an arcade of six pointed arches resting on octagonal columns.

The west doorway is in the transitional style of the twelfth century, and the church has a fine Norman font. The Portlester altar-tomb was removed to its present position under the tower, and bears the recumbent effigies of Roland Fitz Eustace and his wife. Here for several centuries were buried many persons eminent in the trade of the city; for the church was once a group of guild chapels, and in the neighbourhood were the halls of many of the Dublin guilds. **

St. Werburgh’s, **near Christchurch, was also an Anglo Norman foundation, being built by the men of Bristol on the site of an ancient Church of St. Martin, and dedicated, like its sister church of that city, to St. Werburgh, abbess of the convent at Chester, and daughter of Wulfhere, king of Morcia.

The church was burned down in the fourteenth century, rebuilt, and was again destroyed by fire in 1784. Five years later it was rebuilt, with a lofty and graceful spire, which, becoming defective, was taken down in 1810.

The front is of mixed Ionic and Corinthian orders after the fashion of the prevailing Greek style in Dublin in the eighteenth century. In the vaults lie the remains of Lord Edward FitzGerald, who died of the wounds received at his capture in 1798; and in the graveyard the noted Major Sirr, who arrested him, was buried.

In the south wall is a fine sculptured slab of the FitzGerald family. The church was used as a private chapel by the Lord Lieutenant until the Chapel Royal was built, and attracted crowds of fashionable people. It has a very handsome carved pulpit, generally, but we believe wrongly, attributed to Grinling Gibbons.

On the north side of the city, in Church Street, is **St. Michan’s, **up to the end of the seventeenth century the only parish church on that side of the Liffey. The present building is a seventeenth-century structure, restored in 1828. The tower has embattled parapets, common to many of the medieval Irish churches, but it too is considered modern.

The vaults of St. Michan’s have the remarkable quality of preserving the bodies laid in them. The cause of this has boon the subject of much controversy; it is due, probably, to the extreme dryness of the air within, owing to the absorbing power of the yellow limestone of which they are constructed. Several mummified bodies may be seen, among them those of the brothers Sheares, who were executed for high treason in 1798.

A portion of St. **Mary’s Abbey **stands off Capel Street. The Abbey was originally a Benedictine foundation, but was given to the Cistercians by Malachy O’Morgair in the twelfth century. It was suppressed by Henry VIII; and nothing now remains but the chapter house with its groined roof and windows, The building is spoiled by a floor seven feet from the ground, and has been long used as a store. It was here that ” Silken Thomas” threw off his allegiance, and started the rebellion so unfortunate for him and his house. **

St. George’s Church, **at the head of Temple Street, is one of the finest of the city churches, and was built in 1702, from designs by Francis Johnston. The portico has four fluted Ionic columns supporting an entablature and pediment; behind rises the steeple to a height of 200 feet.

Another church of classical design is **St. Stephen’s **(1825) in Upper Mount Street, the portico of which is copied from the Temple of Minerva, with its tower surmounted by a dome.

The **Church of St. Ann, **Dawson Street, erected at the beginning of the eighteenth century, has a fine Norman front (1869), from a design by Sir Thomas Deane.

Of the suburban churches, the richest in design is St. Bartholomew’s, Clyde Road, in early English Gothic, by Wyatt. The **Presbyterian Church, **Rutland Square, built (1864) at the expense of Alexander Findlater, is a handsome decorated Gothic building, with a lofty spire (180 feet).

The religious orders have many churches in Dublin. The **Church of St. Francis Xavier **in Gardiner Street is one of the finest in Ireland, and was from designs by T. B. Keane (1832). The plan is cruciform, and its entrance is through a tetrastyle Ionic portico, surmounted by an entablature and pediment.

The **Church of St. Saviour **in Dominick Street belongs to the Dominican order, and is a fine example of modern decorated Gothic from designs by J. J. MacCarthy (1858); side-chapels were added to the north aisle in 1895. It has a well-carved facade, with figures over the doors. Hogan’s beautiful *Pieta *is in the face of the altar at the east end of the south aisle. The figure of Christ above is Italian. The Priory is on the north side of the church.

The **Carmelite Church **in Clarendon Street dates from 1793, and the transepts were added in 1877. It possesses Hogan’s noted piece of sculpture, *The Dead Christ, *which is set in the face of the altar.

The **Church of St Andrew **in Westland Row is a cruciform church, built 1832-7, with a central cupola. It has a heavy Doric portico, with entablature and pediment, on the apex of which is a figure of St. Andrew. Above the altar is Hogan’s carving of *The Transfiguration. *

The **Catholic University Church, **St. Stephen’s Green, South, is especially associated with the late Cardinal Newman. It was erected in 1854-6, and is a good example of the Roman basilica type of church; a lady chapel has since been added. It is entered by a Romanesque doorway, and the interior is mixed Byzantine and Italian in style.

The Augustinian **Church **in Thomas Street was commenced in 1862, and finished in 1895, from designs by Pugin and Ashlin, and is one of the finest ecclesiastical structures in the city. It has a most striking front, in fourteenth-century French style, rising into a lofty tower 160 feet high, and entered by an elaborately carved doorway. **

St. Peter’s Church, **Phibsborough, is in the early pointed Gothic style, and belongs to the Vincentian Order. Dating from early in the last century, it has twice been largely rebuilt. The nave and west tower, rising with the spire to a height of 200 feet, are recent, from designs by Ashlin. The transepts, with a fine rose-window in each, are also new, from designs by Goldie, as are also the choir, the apse of seven bays, and a series of chapels off them.

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