Praxiteles

St. Colman’s Cathedral Cobh, Co. Cork

It’s that time of year again when we bring you the latest news from the Companies Registration Office on the St. Colman’s Roman Catholic Trust Ltd. which is responsible for the “restoration” of St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh.

Main Points

The membership of the Trust has now shrunk to three. All of the controversial persons who used to belong to it had taken their leave and have left the baby in the arms of Brian Carroll (Fermoy), Denis Murphy (Mallow) and Frank Walley (Cobh). The present Report, submitted at the end of September 2012, covers the year ending 31 December 2011. In that period, not much happened. The only details given are as follows:

– Consolidation of high level Bath stoneon the western section of the internal south nave to prevent further deterioration and falling debris. Grouting was also carried out internally at this high level as a coordinated operation.

– the conservation of the marble and replacements of missing components of the Baptistery.

– the refurbishment of the entrance gate.

– the conservation of the internal south gable of the sacrsity which involved patch-pointing with lime mortar – where mortar had deteriorated and joints were open.

– Refurbishment of sacristy and corridor.

– installation of new light fittings at the main entrance.

– the conduct of lighting trials for a future internal lighting system.

The expenditure made on this work amounted to Euro 318, 294

The income for the same period amounted to Euro 87,166

The income consisted of Euro 17,166 in interest accruing to deposits with the bank
and of a grant from the Heritage Council of Euro 70,000.

That left the St. Colman’s Trust with a healthy defecit of Euro 231,128

The current assets of the Trust as of 31 December 2011 amounted to Euro 528, 799

Not surprisingly, there were no gifts, contributions or legacies to the Trust for the period under revision – although mite boxes have been placed in the Cathedral soliciting contributions for its “restoration”. Presumably, no one gave anything.

The fund also paid out Euro 27,537 in unspecified professional fees.

At this rate, the fund is likely to be exhausted in about two years when we can close it down and heave a sigh of relief.

On Francesco Borromini

from the Journal of Sacred Architecture

http://www.sacredarchitecture.org/reviews/continuity_and_change_in_late_antiquity/

Authentic Beauty in Sacred Art

from the Journal of Sacred Architecture

http://www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/a_chorus_of_praise/

The Architecture of the Scottish Medieval Church, 1100-1560
Richard Fawcett

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/images/full13/9780300170498.jpg

The first in-depth survey of Scotland’s medieval church architecture covers buildings constructed between the early 12th century and the Reformation in 1560. From majestic cathedrals and abbeys to modest parish churches and chapels, Richard Fawcett places the architecture in context by considering the varied sources of ideas that underlay church designs. Over the centuries, Scottish patrons and their masons moved away from a close relationship with England to create a unique late medieval architectural synthesis that took ideas from a wide range of sources. The book concludes with an account of the impact of the Reformation on church construction and design.

Richard Fawcett is a professor in the School of Art History at the University of St. Andrews and a principal inspector with Historic Scotland. He is a noted authority on medieval Scottish architecture and the author of Scottish Architecture from the Accession of the Stewarts to the Reformation and other works.

Baldassare Longhena and Venetian Baroque Architecture
Andrew Hopkins

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/images/full13/9780300181098.jpg

This fascinating book offers the first comprehensive study in English of Baldassare Longhena (1598–1682), the indispensable architect of the Venetian Baroque. While Longhena’s legacy is most visible in his iconic Madonna della Salute, the 17th-century basilica devoted to the Virgin Mary in gratitude for Venice’s deliverance from the plague, and in the Pesaro and Rezzonico palaces along the Grand Canal, he created a plethora of other works over the course of a career that spanned half a century.

Andrew Hopkins’s lucid and thought-provoking text considers the full span of Longhena’s illustrious career, from his monumental staircases and libraries to the palaces commissioned by private patrons and his projects for Venice’s Greek and Jewish communities. This lively account is accompanied by more than sixty color and 300 black-and-white photographs commissioned especially for the book. A complete list of Longhena’s work is included in an appendix.

Andrew Hopkins is associate professor at the Università degli studi de L’Aquila.

The Evolution of York Minster

http://www.ecclsoc.org/ET40.pdf

(scroll to page 53)

Here we are. Came across them by sheer chance. these are the one’s responsible for St. Joseph’s in Monaghan:

http://www.armatilearchitectural.com/Projects/ProjectMenu.aspx?type=CHU

The architects are: Kieran McCambridge / Aaron mcGrath of McLean and Forte

I wish these people would stop attribuiting the wreckage of churches to Vatican II. The Second Vatican Council did not mandate anything like the wreckage that went on here in the 1970s. The blame for that must be laid at the feet of ignorant clerics and greedy cynical architects.

Just how retro-70s can you be?

Looking at it, Dromaroad comes to mind. Any connection?

The whole thing is just kitsch junk with overtones of McCormack’s make over of St. Mary’s Oratory, Maynooth and in Armagh Cathedral – i.e. the brutal phase redivivus.
As for the wall to wall faux Victorian tile floor – well, this was never done in the past for very practical reasons. The isles were tiled but the area under the benches was always floored in timber. I wonder has the genius who installed ever had to stand for an hour on wet tiles in the winter? How would his feet feel after that? And you can forget the idea of underfloor heating because it is fast becoming too expensive – have you noticed the increasing smell of dank in churches which ahve not been properly heated for the past few years?

An indespensible book

Pews, Benches & Chairs. Church seating in English parish churches from the fourteenth century to the present.

COOPER T & BROWN S (eds)

St John’s Church Ballybunion, Co. Kerry.

An Bord Pleannala has given a decison in relation to St John’s Church, Ballybunion, Co. Kerry, which permits some conservation and maintenance elements of a development plan submitted by the diocese of Kerry but prohibits others which proposed a radical reordering of the sanctuary. Fortunately, the proposls to demolish the altar rails and gates were prohibited because such constituted an undue incursion on the integrity of a protected structure – as in the case of similar proposals at Cobh Cathedral .

The relevant documentation may be found here.

http://www.pleanala.ie/casenum/240123.htm

Here are the details of the application as submitted to Kerry Co. Council

http://mapping.kerrycoco.ie/planningenquiry/MainFrames.aspx