Praxiteles
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Yeah! It is. The tower is likely to have been influenced by the Payne brothers efforts at St. Munchin’s in Limerick.
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
This photograph shows what happened to the sacristy window when it was “restored” and clad in thick stormglazing. While some effort was made to reproduce the diamond carrés of the original clear glazing, no explanation is available for the presence of three heraldic devices set into the new glazing.
The effect of the stormglazing is to ensure that the effect of the tracery of the window is never again seen by anyone. Again, all this happens with the spparent tacit nod of Cork County Council which never required a Planning Application to be made and considers this kind of intervention to be “normal” day to day maintenance.
The sacristy was built in 1855 by the Cork architect and antiquarian Richard Brash.
Unfortunately, if Cork County Council permits the dismantling of the adjacent west transept window to go ahead, then we can all expect a result not too dissimilar to what happened to this window.
The second photograph shows the mess made by the stormglazing. Please note the aesthetically pleasing aluminium cross bars. Praxiteles does not know how the tracery manages to support the weight of this thick stormglazing and is wondering what the weight of stormglazing covering an area 20×16 is likely to the tracery of the west transept should the lunacy proceed.
St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant, Co. Cork
Here is a picture of the West transept window of St. Mary’s Church, Buttevant. As you will notice the protective grill is in the process of being removed. It appears that the idea is to “restore” the glass and replace the protective grill with STORMGLAZING. Why the latter, Praxiteles does not know and wonders what kind of visual effect this is likely to have on the window and on the church as a whole. It appears that Cork County Council had no difficulty whatsoever in permitting this to happen with a trace of a PLANNING APPLICATION.
The second photograph shows a close up of the tracery which was installed in 1855/1856. The window is about 40 feet high and c.16 feet wide.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork
Another example of some of the “work” approved by the Conservation Unit of Cork County Council’s Planning Department and carried out without any need for a planning application. A cosy little “Declaration” was arranged and without any bother a significant fitting in a protected structure is has a major intervention carried out on it.
The first fotograph (which is an important piece of evidence since it has a date printed on it) shows the central section of the altar rail in the Kanturk church. NOte the gates and especially the cusp which serves to received the bolts closing the gate. In a previous outing, a green carpet was fitted around the cusp. The cusp was important for it stated that the brass work for the altar rail was done by McGloughlin of Dublin – who did the brass work in Cobh Cathedral and in many of G.E. Ashlin’s churches.
The second photograph (taken today) shows where the cusp used to be. It hads been gauged out of the step of the altar predella and the gates have been removed.
Photograph 3 shows where the gates presently are: dumped against the wall at the end of the altar railo. They sort of give the impression that Cork County COuncil and the Parish Priest are hoping that someone will steal them.
Again, all this work was carried out without planning permission. Why is this so?
On the Kanturk front!
It appears that over a million Euro have been spent on “works” carried out at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. All sorts of thing have come and gone. BUT, the interesting thing is that all this money has been spent and all these works have been carried out WITHOUT any reference to the planning authority by means of an APPLICATION FOR PLANNING PERMISSION. All the million Euro were spent (often on sub standard work) by means of a DECLARATION. Does this sound like a cosy arrangement with the planning department of Cork County Council or does someone know someone else in the deerer recesses of the conservation department of the same County Council? I am just asking because it is being said that DECLARATIONS are being used to EVADE the planning law. Can this be true?
Another example: at St. Mary’s in Buttevant something in the region of Euro 250,000 has been spent on works. Again, there ios no trace of a PLANNING APPLICATION for any of these works. Just what is going on?
@ake wrote:
I found this in the National Photographic Archive. Online!
Waterford Cathedral, in it’s original glory.
[ATTACH]5394[/ATTACH]
And now]5395[/ATTACH]
This makes me dangerously angry. Besides the loss of the stenciling you can see the choir stalls have been moved back away from the altar, and the Baldacchino whitewashed. How did such infant-minded ignorant hippy bastards ever get into the position of power over the architectural decoration of this great work of art, and all the others like it throughout the country? How? Who let this happen? Why did the parishioners and the city corporation allow this? Once they saw it why did they not order them to reverse it? Was there nobody left in Ireland that could distinguish between these two photographs?Good detective work Ake!
The stencil work here must be that rferred to earlier by James1852 which was carried out in the 1880s. This paint work gives a completely different impression of the interior and escapes the sort of empty feeling created by the de rigeur wedgwood pottery combination of blue and white. I have the impression that for some when you talk paint the assimption is that it must always be blue and white.
Rhabanus has also made an excellent point about the baldichino. It would indeed be interesting to know what was going on there.
Finally, Praxiteles -with the help of a few frineds in the US – has tracked down a copt of a book entitled “A Cathedral Rebewed: St. Macartan’s Monaghan” compiled by Eltin Griffin abd published by COlumba Press in 1998. Clearly, we are dealing with a mutually congratulatory society here with all contributors assuring tyhemselves that all is well with the gutting of Monaghan Cathedral. Once Praxiteles has had a little time to study it, the more huialrious bits will be duly posted for the entertainment of viewers during the August bad weather.
The book must be a first at least for Ireland) in giving us some interesting shots of Joe Duffy “modelling” some of the fancier pieces of silk designed as ecclesiastical “garments” – here we have him in the guise of the bishop as mannequin or dummy! Imagine that…
@samuel j wrote:
is that an esb meter box now on the right
Yes it is! That is how the Victorians react to 21 century stipulations that meter boxes must be outside!!
Also note, the door has been recessed several feet from its frame. What liturgical necessity required that?
Then there is the fanciful gothic revival serrurie in that beautiful handle. I cannot believe that the Victorians did not come up with this bit of improving on Pugin! – to say nothing of all the holes that have been driven into the stone work.
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork
Another example of some of the “work” approved by the Conservation Unit of Cork County Council’s Planning Department and carried out without any need for a planning application. A cosy little “Declaration” was arranged and without any bother a significant fitting in a protected structure is has a major intervention carried out on it.
The first fotograph (which is an important piece of evidence since it has a date printed on it) shows the central section of the altar rail in the Kanturk church. NOte the gates and especially the cusp which serves to received the bolts closing the gate. In a previous outing, a green carpet was fitted around the cusp. The cusp was important for it stated that the brass work for the altar rail was done by McGloughlin of Dublin – who did the brass work in Cobh Cathedral and in many of G.E. Ashlin’s churches.
The second photograph (taken today) shows where the cusp used to be. It hads been gauged out of the step of the altar predella and the gates have been removed.
Photograph 3 shows where the gates presently are: dumped against the wall at the end of the altar railo. They sort of give the impression that Cork County COuncil and the Parish Priest are hoping that someone will steal them.
Again, all this work was carried out without planning permission. Why is this so?
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork
The following images were passed recently to Praxiteles. They show us the “high quality” of the work carried out on the “restoration” of this church.
Here we have a pictuire of the original sacristy door before the restoration. It is followed by a picture of the “restored” sacristy door which was installed with the consent of the Conservation Department of Cork County Council. It seems that the conservation department of Cork COunty Council is highly knowledgeable in the arcane scoence of constructing and arming a neo-gothic church door -to say nothing of replicating them.
Praxiteles leaves it to the viewers to spot the “neo-gothic” originality bits in the new door. Praxiteles regards this as a piece of shoddy work which was encouraged by Cork Conty Concil and never submitted tot he planning process. It was carried out under the terms of a “Delaration”
@ake wrote:
Some unusual stained glass in the parish church in Fethard, Tipperary.
[ATTACH]5366[/ATTACH][ATTACH]5367[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]5368[/ATTACH][ATTACH]5369[/ATTACH]Ake!
Any idea of who produced this glass?
For anyone seriously interested in undoing the vandalism in churches over the past 40 years, here is a website hat should prove more than useful when it comes to finding replacement fittings:
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. COrk
Someone has mentioned to Praxiteles that fairly extensive alterations have been made in recent times to this church, including the removal of the central gates and one of the side gates from the altar fail. The gates are by McGloghlin of Dublin. Praxiteles has searched the Cork County Council Webpage but cannot find a planning application for this intervention to a protected structure.
It also seems that works have been carried out to the sanctuary. Was permission obtaind for this? What looks to be a new altar has been installed and a sort of predella has been provided for the reredos of the Hogh Altar. Who authorised this?
There also appears to be severa; problems with new doors that have been provided to the church. Rather than making replica doors for the church, it seems that modern doors have been installed.
Praxiteles is also told that new metal gutters have been installed on the church. These are round and painted black. Still, I can find no reference to this in a ny planning application.
Extensive landscaping is currently going on, it appears, in the grounds of the church, yet no mention is made of this in a planning application.
Has anyone any information about this development? Or, are we seeing substantial alterations to a protected structured achieved through the cumulative efect a series of piecemeal “declarations” granted by a planning authority that seems to know little about the gothic revival? After all, we have had the “expertiese” of the Heffernan gentleman in Cobh!
@Paul Clerkin wrote:
There is no before picture of St Macartan’s in that book. The book is basically a defence, and showing the crime would work against the defendent.
Clearly, it is not the account that it makes itself out to be!
@Fearg wrote:
Superb photos as always Ake!
I believe the spire here is a smaller twin of that at Derry Cathedral, completed by Ashlin in the early 1900s.. they are both slightly more elaborate siblings of the spire at Killarney, which I belive was completed at the same time.
Derry now has a website, some good photos, but some rather glaring inaccuricies in the text!
Very interesting site!
@ake wrote:
Any update on this? (Macartan’s) I actually remember picking up a copy of this ages ago, and not bothering to look through it. I think I came across it twice! It must have been a bookshop in Dublin. Possibly Waterstones. Or was it a public library. Damn.
Will be back on this shortly – still waiting for ot to arrive. The postal system!
The Cathedral in Loughrea would be a candidate.
At village level, it would be difficult to rival the Chiurch of the Scared Heart in Imokilly, near Midelton.
@Rhabanus wrote:
Many thanks, ake! These shots revived my drooping spirit!
The stencilling is exquisite and retains a distinctly celtic character. Were they recently restored or have they been in this mint condition all these decades? Absolutely splendid! Truly amazing that the HACKs and the latterday henchmen of Cromwell allowed this church to pass unscathed.
FIVE STARS to the artists and FIVE STARS to the clergy who commissioned them and FIVE STARS to the great members of the lay faithful who supported this worthy work. This is what is known as a WIN-WIN situation. Everybody wins and nobody loses. Why can we not have more of this, please?
I do not think that that is stencil work. My recollection is that it is mosaic work. But I might be wrong.
