An Architectural Re-discovery of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barrack Street, Strabane

Michael Mullin, Architect

The Church - Design and Construction 1890-1895-1910

LAUDATE EUM IN TYMPANO ET CHORO + LAUDATE EUM IN CHORDIS ET ORGANO.

On the internal face of the west gable, high above the magnificent organ, and visible only to the priest and the congregation as they turn to leave is a painted scroll proclaiming the words in Latin, translated into English as:

‘Praise Him with the timbrel and the choir, praise Him with the harp and the organ.’ Psalm 150.

This is a suitable celebration of the foresight, effort and commitment which created this important building and the choice of the Neo-Gothic Style. The scroll may well have been written at the time of the installation of the organ or perhaps earlier, but its’ aspirational message conveys the concept of lightness, of the symmetry and balance of the west front, as viewed from the Barrack St. gateway and emphasises the immediate verticality of the 190 ft. high spire.

On the approach to the main doorway, the eye is drawn upwards to the carved sandstone figure of the Virgin and angels on the tympanum over the door and then irresistibly to the gothic stained glass traceried window above. From there the lancet windows and the belfry shutters lift us up between the carved stone pediments to the springing of the spire where conical stone pinnacles at each corner convert the square tower to an octagonal cut-stone base and the spire continues to its inevitable, pointed finial stone with the large bronze cross on top.

This is essentially the uplifting effect created by the Gothic style. This was the preferred choice of the Catholic Church in Ireland, in particular, in the second half of the 19th century, when there was a surge in church building throughout the country. Verticality and aspiration were created by the use of high-pitched roofs, prominent tower on the main access west front, octagonal tapering spire with pinnacles, pointed arch traceried windows, and the structure expressed externally by buttresses.

This undeniable sense of inspiration created by stone and glass experienced by us in the 21st century must have been all the more impressive in the latter part of the 19th century especially when viewed in a provincial town or in the open countryside.

Historical Influences

Due to inter-tribal warfare, the Plantation, the destruction by Cromwell of medieval civil and religious buildings, and eventually the Penal Laws, there was very little church building by the Catholic hierarchy up until the early part of the 19th century. The Faith was kept alive by attendance at Mass Rocks and the veneration of numerous saints at ‘holy wells’ and ancient church ruins.

The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 permitted the building of churches, but these were generally small. The Celtic Revival influenced some architectural choices and led to the Hiberno-Romanesque style with semi-circular arches and the round tower as belfry.

Other traditionalists looked back to the Gothic styles of the early monasteries. The Catholic hierarchy wished to raise the spirit of the congregation by providing new churches of the best possible quality and of imposing and recognisable character located in towns and villages throughout the country. A prominent spire and an audible bell were essential features. Light from tall traceried windows complemented raised views of high ornamentation and statuary within the building. A large stained glass East window focused attention and assisted prayer by throwing light on to the congregation and opened prayer books.

Although there were fine examples of carved stone traceried windows in Ireland, from the 14th century of the ‘Decorated ‘style, some complete, as in Kilkenny, but many derelict, in the southern part of the country, there was little else left to reference after centuries of unrest and desecration (Doherty, R. ‘A Regional Study of Medieval Window Tracery in Ireland’). The Early Gothic style of the 13th century appeared to provide a link to an era of religious freedom.

In 1821 Rev Dr. Arthur McHugh P.P. was responsible for building St. John’s Church at Townsend Street, Strabane, and money was raised gradually for an altar and finally a belltower in 1837. By 1881 the roof of the church had fallen in and the parishioners had to use the chapel at the new Convent building which had been opened since 1868.

A new workhouse was built in 1841. Famine and fever were common in the early part and up to the middle of the century. By the 1850’s Ireland was struggling to recover from the horrors of the Famine. The country had lost 2 million people to hunger and emigration. Many of the remaining population were moving into the towns and cities and the need for housing, schools and larger places of worship was increasing rapidly.

In Strabane however, the economy was improving, due to the growth of the canal and the new railway system, and improved communications generally. The advent of the canal in 1796 had greatly improved trade from Tyrone and Donegal to the Port of Derry and beyond. By the 1860’s Strabane was connected by rail to Derry, Belfast, Dublin and Donegal. Hundreds of people were employed in the linen industry, as at Herdsman’s factory in Sion Mills from 1835, and in shirt manufacturing in Strabane from 1848 by James Kennedy at Barrack Street. The delivery of large, heavy materials or equipment of high-quality workmanship was much easier by railway or canal, and travel was quicker and more pleasant.

Due to the increasing prosperity and size of the Catholic congregation the idea of building a new larger church was a realistic objective for the town. Undaunted by the possibly huge cost, the Right Rev. Hugh O’Hagan P.P. and local congregation raised enough money with the help of local successful business people.

Fr. John McElhatton, a curate in the Parish also raised substantial support from second generation Irish Americans when he went to the United States on a fund-raising venture. The church archives tell the story of some of the interesting personalities involved in the creation of the Immaculate Conception Church in the form of letters, contracts, and certificates.

The Story

The Priest & the Painting

In 1865 Rev. Dr. Devlin P.P. bought a site at Barrack Street at a cost of £1,100 from Messrs. Fitzmaurice and others for the purposes of building a school and a new Church with a Parochial House. He was also instrumental in bringing the Sisters of Mercy to Strabane in 1868.

Interestingly, he was involved in the commissioning of a painted copy of the ‘Sistine Madonna’ painted by the artist Raphael in Rome. This painting is now the center piece within the museum display and hangs in the Conference Room of the Church. It was formerly displayed on the north wall of the church sanctuary before the rich mosaics inlay was applied.

A letter from Giuseppe Mazzolini, the artist, in Rome, is addressed to The Very Rev. Dr. Devlin, dated 22nd December 1867 and explains that the artist has been working on the painting since June and that it will be completed in eight days and then forwarded to Dr. Devlin. He says that his son had translated the letter into English for him. It is a large painting, and Mazzolini provides instructions on how it should be treated and transported. It is not clear whether it was destined for St. John’s Church or possibly the Convent which was opened in the following year.

The Priest, Architect and Builder

Right Rev. Monsignor Hugh O’Hagan 1832-1905

(Parish Priest of Camus and Clonleigh 1883-1905)

From Draperstown in Co. Derry, Fr. O’Hagan would have commenced his religious studies only a few years after the Famine and was ordained at Maynooth in 1862. His initial posting was in Maghera and thence appointed Administrator at the Cathedral in Derry. In 1883 he was moved to the Parish of Camus and Clonleigh as Parish Priest. His first venture was to build a school for the boys of the parish at Barrack Street. The foundation stone was laid in 1885 and the Barrack Street National School was built and opened by the 26th March 1886. The girls were moved to the Convent National School and the old school at Chapel Street was closed.

Monsignor O’Hagan was a supporter of Home Rule and Catholic Registration and of the need to provide better housing for the working class in the town. His greatest success was in raising funds and making preparations for the building of the new church which commenced in November 1890. On completion of the building contracts Monsignor O’Hagan could confirm that all the necessary money had been raised and there was no outstanding debt on the parish. The opening and dedication of the Church of the Immaculate Conception took place on Sunday 15th September 1895. This was just forty-one years after the publication of the definition of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1854.

William Hague F.R.I.A.I. Architect (1836-1899)

The chosen architect for the building of the church was William Hague from 50 Dawson Street, Dublin and formerly of Cavan. He had a very busy career being involved in the design of churches, schools, and civic buildings all over Ireland around two hundred projects in all.

In the North of Ireland he designed, amongst others, St. Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, the Sacred Heart Church, Omagh, the Sacred Heart Church, Plumbridge, Waterside Presbyterian Church, Clooney Terrace, Derry and the spire and interior of St. Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan. As an exponent of the Early Gothic Style, he complemented the work of J. J. McCarthy and J. O’Neill both architects who had been greatly influenced by A.W.N. Pugin, the English Architect who had completed many church commissions in England and Ireland. Pugin was involved in sixteen designs, mostly churches, in Ireland, including Killarney Cathedral and Maynooth College.

By 1850 in England there was a strong revival of interest in the Catholic Religion and the building of Catholic churches as espoused by the Oxford Movement or Tractarians. Very influenced by this movement A.W.N. Pugin published articles on ‘The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture 1841’ in the Dublin Review.

His design philosophy was that the Gothic style was an honest expression of the structure and function of the building, its’ external and internal appearance “illustrative of the purpose for which it was designed’ and ‘all ornament should consist of the essential construction of the building’, he considered ‘verticality’ to be ‘an emblem of the Resurrection’ (Hill, R., 2007, God’s Architect, p.243)

Pugin believed this was best illustrated by the ‘Catholic Architecture’ of the Early Gothic churches. The ‘Rayonnant’ or 13th century French Gothic style was quite popular, from ‘a period characterized by circular windows with wheel tracery as at Rheims, Amiens and Bourges’. (Fletcher, B., 1953, A History of Architecture, p.534)

William Hague endorsed this view of the 13th and 14th century English and French Gothic as being more genuinely Christian and fulfilled the desire to affect some continuity with early Catholicism especially in Ireland. He had been a student of Charles Barry in London for whom Pugin had designed the interior of the Palace of Westminster. Inspired by this influence William Hague was determined to carry out his designs with a respect for integrity in style.

While the Immaculate Conception church was in the process of design, William Hague was also working on several other buildings either at the design or construction stage, namely the commencement of St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny, and the completion of the Sacred Heart chapel in Plumbridge.

The first public statement regarding the Immaculate Conception Church, Strabane was an advertisement seeking interested builders on 26th August and 2nd September 1890 published in the Freeman’s Journal. On the 18th October 1890 a contract was signed between Oliver White and the Trustees of the Church. Rev. Hugh O’Hagan P.P. and Mr. Patrick McMenamin, Justice of the Peace, for the supply of rough building stone to build the church.

Following that in November 1890 there is a handwritten, but stamped receipt for the sum of £50 pounds regarding the extraction of rough building stone for the church at Curlyhill, Strabane, from a quarry owned by Oliver White. The money was paid by Rev. H. O’Hagan P.P. and P. McMenamin. The said P. McMenamin was to become an important figure in the project.

Robert Cullen Builder and Contractor, Portadown

Tenders were sought for the building of the church and the successful contractor was Robert Cullen, Portadown. He was to undertake the project in three different contracts. This was a normal arrangement at the time and allowed some flexibility in the raising of funds.

The initial contract was signed on 27th of October 1890 and the Foundation Stone was laid on 9th November 1890. This contract was for the main church building and ground floor structure of the entrance, at a cost of £9,000. The second contract was for the building of the tower and spire and internal finishes at a cost of £1,643 and was signed on 4th May 1893. The third contract was for the internal finishes to the church and was signed on 18th April 1894 with a completion date of 24th December 1894 and at a cost of £1,563. 17 0. Thereafter, certificates and payments were paid regularly, there being twenty in all to Robert Cullen up to 30th November 1895.

It is obvious from letters between William Hague, Monsignor O’Hagan and Robert Cullen and the fact that Robert Cullen carried out all three contracts within 5 years that a good relationship was built up and a good quality of workmanship ensued. William Hague especially was very keen to maintain quality control.

The Donors

Various benefactors namely James Kennedy, Edward Gallagher, Mrs Browne, Patrick McMenamin, local business people and parishioners supported the building of the church. This was in the form of gifts or donations of money to the church building fund or for the purchase of religious artefacts such as chalices, ciborium and monstrance.

James Kennedy (1810-1901)

James Kennedy was born in 1810 and moved to Strabane in 1831. He died in 1901. He established a factory in Barrack Street in 1848, on the current site of St. Patrick’s Hall. He was also a J.P., being the first Catholic to receive this appointment in the history of Strabane in 1882...

Edward Gallagher (1839–1924)

Edward Gallagher was a businessman and magistrate born on the 27th October 1839 in Co. Donegal. In 1867 Edward emigrated to America where he travelled rural areas selling bibles, gathering together a considerable sum of money. He returned to Ireland in the Autumn of 1869 and opened a draper's shop on Main Street, Strabane, Co. Tyrone. He was a daily mass-goer and chairman of the local St Eugene’s Catholic Temperance Society. He donated a set of the stations of the cross, costing over £200. He died 20 September 1924 in Monkstown, Co. Dublin, and was buried in Strabane (The Dictionary of Irish Biography/RIA).

Mary Browne (d. 1899)

Mrs Browne was a very generous benefactor who took a great interest in the building of the new Church of the Immaculate Conception. When the foundation stone was laid in 1890 she contributed £1,000 pounds. She made several other donations: £200 pounds towards the building of the spire, £1,300 pounds for the three altars, £50 pounds for the sanctuary lamp and a further £50 pounds on the opening day of the Church in 1895. She also provided funds for the white marble high altar in the Convent of Mercy.

Patrick McMenamin J.P. (1838-1924)

Monsignor O’Hagan was greatly assisted in his endeavours by a local businessman Mr. Patrick McMenamin J.P. who was made Trustee of the project and was also a generous benefactor. Patrick came to work for Mr. John Browne, Grocer at Castle Place, Strabane in 1860. A diligent worker, he soon became manager and expanded the business into Donegal. He inherited the estate on the death of Mr. Browne’s widow in 1899. This included the grocery shop which in later years was owned by Giovanni Vaccaro, whose son Guido became a priest many years later and celebrated his first mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Becoming very successful in business and with a reputation for honesty and fairness he acquired other commercial and domestic premises. He served as a member of Tyrone County Council and as a Magistrate at the Strabane and Lifford Petty Sessions for more than 30 years. Being of a charitable nature he supported the undertakings of the parish and eventually became a Trustee along with Fr. O’Hagan on the church building project.

He was a generous benefactor, donating the stained-glass window on the East wall behind the altar which has the inscription ‘Presented by P. McMenamin Esq. J.P. Strabane’ inscribed on the stained glass. He also paid for the white sculpted marble pulpit, with a plaque which reads ‘Pray for P. McMenamin, J.P. the generous donor’. He contributed £1,000 to help pay for the church organ and paid for landscaping around the church. At the age of 86 he died, a bachelor, and was buried in Melmount Churchyard in 1924 (MacIntyre, E., 1958, Strabane Carnival Magazine).

Description of the Church

The Exterior

William Hague’s design for the church easily suits the site and its position therein, displaying a Cathedral-like appearance in size and style set against the rising landscape behind towards the East. With a cruciform layout, the building is 154 feet long from east to west gables, including the tower, and 79 feet wide at the transept, whilst the width of the nave plus the north and side aisles is 59 feet 10 inches. The transept ceiling rises to a height of 50 feet. The floor level is set just under 2 feet above external ground level providing sufficient eminence to all views of the building.

The sacristy and services rooms with stairs leading to a first-floor conference room above are contained in a block attached to the south wall of the sanctuary. The tower with its spire is built on the West front and is set forward from the west wall of the side porches. This allows the tower to have its own structural and visual integrity whilst accepting the supporting effect of the main structure. The tower is the most impressive external feature, complete with four sandstone gargoyles, setting the ‘ethos’ of the building and the expectation of what lies inside.

Hague’s choice in stone was blue-grey squared limestone with rock-faced finish, sourced locally, possibly from a local quarry or from Donegal, set within light-colored dressed sandstone which Master Stonemason, John McCollam identified as being from Dungannon when on site in 2021. Stonemasons from Derry (Hazlett’s) or from Belfast dressed and carved the sandstone which was then transported by rail to Strabane. Squared rock-faced pink granite was used for ‘relieving arches’ above the major openings and clerestory windows. In the first contract the main wall structure was built using the ‘rough stone’ from the Curlyhill quarry.

Quoins, openings, and buttresses were dressed in cut sandstone, with carved sandstone used in jambs and arches, window tracery, drip-mouldings and eaves courses. The drip-mouldings over the windows and doors all terminate in carved sandstone heads of various saints. These drip-mouldings are functional but also provide the opportunity to ‘personalise’ the building by the use of carved heads or foliage, a ‘justifiable’ ornamentation in Pugin’s and Hague’s mind.

At the base of the drip-moulding on the north side of the main door is a carved head which may be St. Brigid and on the south side the carved head would appear to be St. Patrick. There are in all some 112 sandstone heads including substitute ‘foliage’ on the exterior of the building. Much more dressed and shaped sandstone was used in the tower building especially as the walls rose towards the spire. Most cathedrals and many churches of the time are positioned on dominant sites and have an imposing character, with greater ornamentation on the carved stone pinnacles at the base of the spire as seen at Derry, Letterkenny and Monaghan.

William Hague, however, denies the pinnacles that dominance by means of their simple, conical carved stone ‘roof’ which is reminiscent of a French Chateau feature, and allows the spire itself to dominate. This effects a ‘visual balance’ in the West Front which creates a subtle but more inviting entrance. The entrance doorway on the West Front leads into the Main Porch at the foot of the tower structure. This has a pair of six panelled pine doors with medieval style iron strap hinges.

Above the doors a moulded sandstone ‘flat-arched’ head supports a ‘finely carved pointed -arch frieze showing the Virgin Mary flanked by angels’ within the tympanum (Historic Environment Department - HB10/14/008). Carved on the banner carried by the angels are the words ‘Inimicitias Ponam Inter Te Et Mulier’ translated as ‘I will put enmity between you and the Woman’. A document in the church archives states that the sandstone carved ‘foliage’ above the doorway was to be replaced with the current frieze depicting the Immaculate Conception image which was delivered from Belfast.

On the north side of the door and supporting the flat arch of the tympanum is a carved sandstone corbel decorated with carved shamrocks, whilst on the south side the carving is of oak leaves and acorns. A dressed sandstone bevelled reveal encloses the doorway with two polished pink granite colonettes on each side, supporting carved sandstone capitals and a sandstone archivolt with a repetitive leaf carving.

The Interior

On entering, the eye is drawn to the porch ceiling, exquisitely designed, and executed in pine panelling, light and dark colouring, with a beautifully fashioned coving, double dentil trim and a fleur-de-lis combination piece. This is the first indication of the superb quality joinery work throughout the church and the architect’s commitment to detailed design. Moving through the internal doors the view along the nave and side aisles makes us aware of the impressive height of this space and the welcoming effect of daylight through the clerestory windows. Between the nave and aisles four substantial pointed, moulded arches supported by pink polished granite circular columns from Peterhead quarries, Scotland, with round sandstone capitals and white Carrara marble carved bases, set upon dark Peterhead Blue polished granite circular bases draw us towards the transept. Carved marble heads punctuate the bottom of the arch mouldings.

Two more impressive arches on octagonal columns cross the transept to where double ‘principal’ trusses create height and space for the sanctuary. However, the eye is drawn inexorably to the magnificent five-bay east window in stained-glass set-in gold and coloured mosaics, as a foil to the richly carved white marble altar below.

Altar

The Italian marble high altar was sculpted and erected by James Pearse, Ecclesiastical and Architectural Sculptor of 27 Great Brunswick St. Dublin and father of Padraig and Willie Pearse who were executed after the 1916 Rising. The finely carved and detailed reredos is of Carrara and Sicilian marble with granite and coloured marble columns, richly sculptured capitals and inset gold mosaics to designs by William Hague (Ref. letters from W. Hague to Rev, Fr. O’Hagan on 8th and 11th July 1894 in Church Archive).

Due to the changes after Vatican II the carved figure of the Saviour in the Tomb was moved to a new altar table in front of the original, and a carving of the Annunciation from the previous side altar set in place of the original. There was originally an altar on either side of the main altar – one dedicated to the Sacred Heart and the other to Our Lady. Both have been subsequently removed.

The Pulpit

It was Pearse who also created the two side altars, the communion rails (of which little remains) the pulpit and the holy water font. The pulpit is elaborately carved from Sicilian and Carrara white marble depicting scenes of saints between columns of coloured marble including Galway green. Payment certificates for all this work amounted to £1,050.

Roof, Ceiling & Seats

The roof structure and ceiling are important features which contribute to the sense of height and aspiration. The stained pitch-pine webbed trusses have an intricate but fascinating shape with a raised tie above a pointed arch, and with web bracing perpendicular to the roof slope. This feature has echoes of the strut bracing on flying buttresses as at Chartres Cathedral. The view through the trusses suggests an almost harp-shaped effect which emphasises the lightness of the structure and contrasts with the diagonal sheeting of the ceiling.

Carved marble corbels support the tall legs of the trusses, almost like tie-ropes, which creates the visual impression that the roof is weightless. Overall, the sense is of a virtual symphony of woodcraft and colour. The gallery front is composed of decorative gothic panelling, also with fine dentil moulding. The wooden columns beneath support elegantly carved pointed arches, with tree-like bracing, almost Art Nouveau naturalism. The pitch-pine seating is also of high-quality design and production, with neatly detailed jointing, chamfers, and carved crosses, imported from Glasgow using Canadian pine.

The ceiling of the first floor Conference Room is also finished in a decorative pine pattern similar to the porch and creates a suitable setting for the ‘Sistine Madonna’. William Hague’s respect for integrity and positive detailing shows throughout.

Stained Glass windows

Stained glass windows on the East wall and West wall, North and South transept walls were manufactured by the world-renowned Franz Mayer of Munich. The east window has five bays supporting two small and one larger ‘wheel’ feature which shows the Virgin in blue. The ‘foiled’ section below shows Veronica holding the cloth depicting the face of Christ. Each bay portrays a different scene from the life of Christ, the Nativity, the Baptism of Christ, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, with the presentation banner from P. McMenamin beneath. The West window has three bays supporting ‘wheel’ tracery with the Blessed Sacrament displayed at the centre surrounded by six floral patterns providing a coloured lighting behind the magnificent Evans and Barr organ.

On the South transept gable two double bay windows are devoted to Mary. One depicts the Assumption with an inscription reading ‘In Memoriam Right Rev. H. O’Hagan’. The other depicts the Coronation of Our Lady with an inscription ‘In Memoriam Rev. Joseph Bradley’ who was a curate in the church from 1891-1905. On the North transept gable are two double bay windows with scenes from the life of St. Patrick with the words ‘Presented by the T.A. Society’ (shows St Patrick arriving in Ireland), and ‘Presented by the Sacred Heart Society’, (shows St Patrick at the conversion of the King and Queen of Tara).

Two windows are located high above the altar on either side of the Sanctuary depict St Ann and St Joachim. Both windows are dedicated to the Parish Priest, Fr. Hugh O’Hagan. Inscription at bottom of each window reads “In Memoriam Right Rev. Mgr. Hugh O’Hagan, P. P. V. F. By Marian McMenamin”. Marian McMenamin was the niece of Patrick McMenamin, J.P.

The Mosaics

Bishop Charles MacHugh was consecrated on 29th September 1907. On receiving a gift of a bag of sovereigns from representatives of the Parish, including P. McMenamin, he asked that this money be used toward the cost of work being carried out in the sanctuary. This places the mosaic work and floor tiling at around 1907 (Ref – Harron, Michael 2021).

The Mosaics were designed and applied by the firm of Ludwig Oppenheimer, Ltd. Old Trafford, Manchester. Born in 1830 in Brunswick, Oppenheimer moved to England and set up workshop in 1865. Most of his known work is in Ireland, Letterkenny, Armagh and Newry Cathedrals, Clonard Monastry, Belfast. It is reputed that he employed craftsmen from Ravenna, Venice and Spilimergo, Italy. Providing a warmth of pictorial representation on the walls and floors around the Sanctuary, side chapel and Baptistry of the Four Evangelists, Agnes Dei (the Lamb of God) and other scenes from Scripture, in gold and blue, brown, and green, this ancient art form imbues a sense of completion to the church. It is believed these Italian craftsmen would also have made the carved ‘heads’ and corbels ‘supporting’ the carved arches.

The Stations of the Cross

A copy of a receipted bill stamped in February 1896 confirms that Mayer and Co. Pontifical Art Studio of Munich supplied ‘14 Stations of the Cross with oak frames’ at cost of £235. Painted in ‘bas-relief’ plaster with intriguing realism and set in finely detailed frames they complement the artistry of their surroundings.

The Bell

Costing £236:9:3. the bell was manufactured and erected by M. Byrne, of Byrnes Fountain Head Bell Foundry, Dublin, having the tone of B Flat. The bell was ‘hoisted’ on 2nd August 1895, and reportedly weighed almost two tons.

Organ

As you enter the church, turn around and look above you can see the organ loft. The organ was built by the Belfast firm of Evans & Barr Ltd, the first organ building firm in the north of Ireland. Dublin was traditionally the centre for instrument making and in the 1830s the large and renowned firm of Telford was established there.

In the early 19th Century Ulster had relatively few organs, the majority of these having been built in England. Telfords did not have much influence in the north and with the upsurgence of church building from the 1860s onwards, Conacher and Walker were the traditional choice of builder. The company of Evans & Barr carried out annual maintenance of the organ well into the 1960s.

Epilogue

William Hague died in 1899 before the windows and mosaics were completed. However, the superb quality of this work complements that which went before, becoming integral to what would have been his vision. This vision enlivened still today within the fabric of forms and colours creates a sense of spatial command within time.

Each building bears its own artistic presence. This is a composite of the original concept and all the practical and artistic energies and decisions made. Centuries old elements such as the pointed arch brought from the East to the West of Europe by the Normans, stained glass and mosaics to portray events and people, marble and granite carved and polished, all fashioned within this Neo-Gothic statement create an individual experience sensed chiefly from the changes in the light throughout the day….

‘Sun-shapes of Eastern coloured light on silk-spun sheen of Scottish granite columns, each chisel-curve on Carrara marble and Sperrin sandstone, each curlicue and chamfer on amber-scented Canadian pitch pine and fingers of Western light through the roof trusses’.

FINIS AD PRINCIPIUM – The End to the Beginning