Praxiteles
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St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
The following link provides a wealth of detail about the church and has some fantastic pictures:
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
These two photographs help illustrate the architectural complexity of the east side of St. Mary’s Church.
The mouldings on the recessed tomb in the adjacent friary are in all probably the prototypes for the mouldings used on the windows and doors of north face of the east transept.
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
And here we have a shot of a door in the east transept. It is very doubtful that a door of this kind was ever intended to accompany the historicized early English pointed arches to be found on this side of the church. Even more anachronistic is the glass pane in the tympan of the door.
It should be noted that the east side of this church differs significantly from the west side in that it is an example of a deliberate historicization. Unlike the west side, it is not built in large regular ashlar blocks but in smaller irregular stone (some of which were taken from the ruins of the cloister of the adjacent Franciscan friary (founded c. 1250). This side of the church is built to imitate the masonary of the tower on its east side – which was part of a genuine medieval town house dating from the late thirteenth century. Indeed, this incorporation and historicization is a quite deliberate assertion of religious and historical continuity.
While the English gothic prototypes for the west and south sides of the church all date from c. 1350, the pointed arches used on the east transept for the windows and doors belong to an earlier period of c. 1250, indicating that Mr. Cottrell, the architect, was more than slightly conversant with the development of English gothic and may well have had some connection with the Payne brothers. His architectural offices were in Hanover Street in Cork City.
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
And here we have a picture showing the present whereabout of a good portion of the grill that has been removed from the west transept window.
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
An internal view of the west transept window glazed by Watsons of Youghal c. 1910. The upper central panel depicts the Assumption of Our Lady.
The main sanctuary window was designed, glazed and installed by Mayer of Munich in 1886. The upper reaches depict the choir of cherubim and seraphim; the middle range shows St. Colman, Our Lady, the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph, and St. Francis. The third range is now obscured by wall built in front of it with several of the panels salvaged from the demolition of the fine pulpit that once stood in the church. The third section contains a large inscription extending the length of the window in memory of the generosity of the donor. The tracery and iconography closely resemble another window done by Mayers for St. Patrick’s Church, Fermoy, at about the same time. As at Fermoy, the window was concieved as a backdrop to the High Altar and reredos and its dimensions were measured in reference to the High Altar. However, with the seventies vandalism and horrendous poor taste, the window is now abandoned in suspended isolation.
And here is an even more interesting comment from Cork City Council on section 57 Declarations:
“In most cases, the following works do not require planning permission, unless stated otherwise in a particular declaration:
Routine maintenance
Modest repairs to keep a building weather-tight, securing of existing elements of windows (but not replacement of windows original to the structure), the clearing of gutters and downpipes, gardening activities which do not disturb the sub-soil”.
Well the modest repairs in Kanturk are said to cost over a million Euro!!
As for gardening without disturbing the sub-soil: well do not be surprised if some morning you do not discover that the al-Wahaabi has not put up a minaret over night!
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@Fearg wrote:
At last!! When compared to the sketch I posted back in April, the pieces are much smaller than I expected they would be (In fact, I wonder if they were intended for this location?). I think Monaghan would be a superb blank canvas to reinstate something more along the lines of what McCarthy intended!
I agree that Monaghan is the place to start. No one will shed anybtears for the junk currently scattered around its sanctuary. It can (and will) easily be bulldozed and in its replacement, the general lines illuistrated fro has to happen up and down the country sooner rather than later.
The great east window at York Minster (which is the portotype for the transept windows of St. Mary’s, Buttevant, Co. Cork) was built between 1360 and 1405. The tracery was designed and built by John Thornton from 1405-1408. It is one of the largest areas of medieval stained glass in the world, its measurements close to those of a tennis court. It was the gift of Walter Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham, and cost £58.
In the top tracery light God the Father, Alpha and Omega presides over a rank of saints and angels. Below the tracery are 117 panels in rows of nine, illustrating various Biblical scenes.
Because of its vast area, the window is supported by extra stonework which forms an internal screen. Within this are two walkways across the face of the window. From the higher of these the choir sang during the service of re-dedication following the last cleaning of the window. This restoration took ten years to complete.
Notably, the cleaning and restoration of the East window in York did not include the positioning of stormglazing in front of the tracery of the window.
Interestingly, the west window at Winchester has no stormglazing and seems to be able to get aling witout it.
The great west window at Winchester was built by William Edington who was Bishop of Winchester from 1346-1366. The window was glazed by his successor William of Wykeham, Bishoop of Winchester from 1388-1404. Wykeham was Chancellor of England and responsible for the re-building of Windsor Castle for Edward III. Originally the stained glass represented prophets and saints, but it was destroyed by parliamentary troops during the civil war in 1642. It was re-assembled randomly in 1660 when the monarchy was restored, so the present windows are constructed from 14th century glass, but with no particular pattern.
Re: St Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
On the connection between the transept windows of St. Mary’s, Buttevant and the west window at Winchester Cathedral the following:
“The design of the west window is singularly simple, reducing itself to the merest stone grating. Divided into three great vertical compartments by principal monials, each of these is again split into three by secondary monials. Seven transoms divide the space into eight horizontal compartments. But the door in the centre and the arch-heads of the lights disturb the regularity of those at the top and bottom of the window. The window sill coincides with the second transom from the bottom, consequently we have panels below it and lights above it; then we find four rows of nine lights each, all alike, and above these the arch-head, which can scarcely be said to be filled with tracery, so completely does the grating-like character pervade it. In fact, in the central group of lights the grating extends to the very top, as well as in the middle of each great lateral division, the only attempt at curvilinear tracery being the filling up of the two side subordinate compartments of each great lateral division; and this, as it happen-, to coincide with the similar parts of Wykeham’s aisle and clerestory windows, has been thought by some writers enough to identify the two as the works of the same person”.
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
The tracery of the transept windows, however, is based on that found in the west window of Winchester Cathedral which is divided into 9 bays by perpendicular mullions. Buttevant has 6 bays.
Re St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
Here we have two views of the great East window of York Minster taken from Joseph Halfpenny’s Gothic Ornament in the Cathedral Churh at York first published in 1794. These are plates 97 and 105 from this survey.
Since this is as close as it comes to cartoons when explaining the development of English Gothic architecture and its influence on church building in Ireland prior to 1820, we hope that even the most challenged on the Cloyne HACK will be able to see some resemblance bewteen York Minster and St. Mary’s, Buttevant.
Re the transept windows of St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
The prototypes for these windows are to be found at York Minister. Here we reproduce a drawing from John Milner’s groundbreaking Treatise on the Ecclesiastical Architecture of England during the Middle Ages published in 1811. This was the first historical classification of the stages of the development of gothic architecture in England. Thomas Rickman in his Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture in England first published in 1817 brought scientific rigour to bear on Milner’s categories and eventually left us with the vocabulary to describe English gothic – including the famous term “perpendicular”.
And here is the well known result and it comes as little consolation to us that Joe Duffy spends his time wringing his hands over the perennial questions: “Is it possible to speak meaningfully about another world? Does human history have a plan or purpose? What can we reasonably expect from life?” God, they must have very severe winters in Monaghan!
Monaghan Cathedral
After nearly two years of searcing this is about as much as Praxiteles has been able (so far) to unearth of the original sanctuary. It does however give a good idea of what it was like. Note the floor of the sanctuary – is is quite similar to that in Cobh Cathedral (the one they wanted to hack out).
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork
And here we have a few views showing how the al-Wahaadi quite literally screwed up the iron work on the main doors of the church! The use of screws like these, undoubtedly, is for the purpose of lending an authentic “gothic” air to the place and to make them unmistakably Pugin.
Again, this work was carried out without planning permission and seemingly is acceptable to Cork County Council.
And here we have another charming scene from the interior of Kanturk Church.
The pine construction seems to be a shrine.
Note that the gates oft he altar rails have again been removed at this side of the sa<nctuary and dumped against the wall in the hope that someone might run off with them.
And, in case we forget, this church is a protected building and on the list of protected structures drawn up by the Cork County Council.
Yeah, I think he is but in Kanturk he is regarded more as the local liturgical al-Wahaabi!!
However, the real question is why can he do such an extensive make over of Kanturk church without planning permission and everyone else has to go through the whole expensive process to make a minor alteration to the front of the house? Are the al-Wahaabi above the law?
@THE_Chris wrote:
That first ‘after’ pic above.. the picture is flipped horizontally by the looks of the CATCH alarm logo and the position of the jutting brick wall on the left of it.
Well that means that the door handle is also flipped and if you think about it, the handle is now designed to be used by a left handed person only!!
A very sharp comment Chris and dead spot on!!
Here are a couple of more to show the thing right side up -the lfeties woz obviously at it here!!
Is is not that just a stunning piece of Gothick!! A pity the ESB box has not a pointed arch – it would lend street cred to it.
