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P.J.H. CUYPERS
Onze Lieve Vrouwe Onbevlekt Ontvangen or Posthoornkerk , Amsterdam, 1860-1863 & 1887-1889
This neo-Gothic church by Cuypers shows several late Romanesque influences. Although officially called the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, it is popularly known as the Posthoornkerk or Posthorn Church, The church was built in two stages: the first 1860 – 1863 which saw the building of the choir, transept and nave; the facade was added in 1887- 1889. Because it is almost completely surrounded by houses, Cuypers designed the church taller than normal. The plain exterior belies the richness of decoration of the interior. The church was abandoned in 1963, and despite listing, only barely esacped demolition. It is now a concert hall.
The link below shows a picture of the great Rood Screen build in St. Chad’s by A.W. Pugin. Unfortunately, in the late 1960s it was dismantled and atomized. Recently, I believe, the Cross was reinstated but the other parts of the screen remain scattered in various places. Let me quote Nicholas Psevner on thi particular piece of vandalism: “Without the screen, we totally lose Pugin’s intended drama of the nave space revealing the chancel as a giant reliquary, that is, for the relics of the 7 century Bishop of Mercia, St. Chad….housed in the gilt feretory above the High Altar reredos”. Most of the bits and pieces of the screen are to be found in Anglican church of the Holy Trinity in Reading.
The Convent of St. Joseph of the Carmelite nuns in Tallow , Co. Waterford was recently rebuilt but would not be anything on the scale of the French or American examples. Unfortunately, the web does not appear to have any photographs available.
You might want to take a look at John Pawson’s Cistercian Abbey at Novy Dvur in Bohemia
http://www.johnpawson.com/architecture/monastery
There is also the newly build abbey of Ste Marie Madelaine at Le Barroux near Orange in Provence.
(in the background, Le Mont Ventoux famously painted by C
In relation ot the neo-gothic revival in Holland we have already seen some examples of the work of Carl Weber which drew mainly on the romano-gothic of the Rhineland for its inspiration.
Here we have an example of the work of P. Cuypers, the other great architect of the Dutcj neo-gothic revival. Unlike Weber, his inspiration was French and precisely in the school of Viellot-le-Duc, A.N. Didron and the French 13th. century – the same influences at work on E.W Pugin, JJ. McCarthy and G.C. Ashlin. It is interesting to see how the same inspirational sources were worked out by each of these architects and given very distinctive personal character.
P.J.H. Cuypers (1827-1921)
Ouderkerk aan de Amstel (North Holland), The Church of St. Urban: 1865-1867
Three-aisled cruciform church, the transept extending the width of the nave. Tower on most western side of the northern aisle.
Just read The-Chris contribution. I think he has missed the point.
While this thread certainly could have pointed out a number of examples of Bishop Magee’s paucity with the truth and his lack of transparency in dealing with the attempt being made to wreck the interior of Cobh Cathedral, it has not done so (cf. the documentation contained in the book “Conserving Cobh Cathedral”). Instead, it has concentrated on conservation issues, art history, the neo-gothic revival, and on various comparative studies within the neo-gothic revival movement. There is no mention of a Magee in Didron, for example.
Not knowing John Magee as well as The -Chris, I would be reluctant to say that his hesitation to venture out amongst his own flock can be reduced to a single factor. It would perhaps be best for the bishop to explain that himself
As for those lucky enough to be admitted to his presence, we leave it with them to savour the scintillating brilliance of the bishop’s wit.
This is the only photograph I can find of St. Josph’s, Liscarroll, Co. Cork. The interior has a very interesting exposed hammerbeam ceiling. Unfortunately, I cannot find a picture of the interior. perhaps someone in Cork might have one.
The latest from Cork suggests that the Bishop McGhee of Cloyne is hell bent on erasing every single church in the county. The latest proposed vistim is the rather fine mid-19th century village church of St. Joseph at Liscarroll, near Mallow. Not surprisingly, the same team proposing the wreckage of Cobh Cathedral are now turning their eyes toward Liscarroll. The bright Fr. Danny Murphy is again leading the possé. You will remember that his “liturgical” assessment of Cobh Cathedral was heavily discredited by the London based professional liturgist, Dr. Alcuin Reid, during the Cobh oral hearing. Indeed, it was interesting to note that Murphy was not called by the developers in the Cobh Cathedral case to give evidence on their behalf – a sign of his ability to provide a reasoned argument for the twaddle he went on with to justify and rubber stam the destructuion of the Cathedral interior.
I cannot locate the architect for Liscarroll but he may have been JJ. McCarthy or a pupil of McCarthy’s.
The Cobh saga took another twist today. An Bord Pleanala once again failed to come to a decision and has deferred making one until 26 May (i.e. 2006)! Just what can all this mean?
I wonder has this anything to do with the further delay by ABP:
http://www.franciscan.edu/home2/Content/main.aspx?id=1984
http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=1905
And here is another piece of fun:
Word on the grape vine has it that An Bord Pleanala has again deferred a decision on Cobh Cathedral. It seems that nothing will be available untiol at least 17 May 2006. Hmmmmm
In relation to Cobh Cathedral, a decision from An Bord Pleanala is due on Wednesday, 10 May 2006. Let us hope that they get it right.
A variant of the Letterkenny solution has been proposed umteen times to bishop McGhee in Cobh. He will not even consider the possibility of placing a new altar in the sanctuary. It was proposed as recently as the Midleton Oral Hearing. He sat emotionless and listened to the proposal. The body language, however, made it clear that it would not give him sufficient prominence.
Good News from the FOSCC: Their book Conserving Cobh Cathedral sold out in tend days. Fiortunately a second printing has now been done and the book is available at multiple outlets in CObh or directly from the FOSCC viz http://www.foscc.com
I agree that Cobh Cathedral has a sentimental/historic value and a wealth of detail. It would however, be completely inadequate to reduce its signicifance to these elements alone. Perhaps more important are its religious and cultural significance. Over the past six months I have been struck by the complete absence of a detailed inventory or academic study of this most important building. WHile many of the studies that have been done are good in themselves they lack the comprehensiveness that a building like Cobh deserves. Also the existing studies are almost excluisively concentrated on English language sources – which in the case of Cobh are always secondary and derivitave. Some of my efforts have touched the only the surface of the cultural depth of the iconographic scheme of the cathedral. Its iconographic prototypical antecedents, as I hope I have been able to indicate in some schematic way, reach right back to the very foundations of European culture and civilisation. The earliest of these from late antiquity being mediated through the Middle Ages -especially in Burgundy – and fianlly in the great Cathedral of Northern France in the gothic age. To this, must be added the “aracheological” researches of A.N. Didron which he publishjed between 1844-and 1871. All of this is behind Cobh Cathedral but to it must be added the peculairly “Irish” twist to the interest in the medieval which was represented by the scholarship of the Celtic Revival. WHile the tympan of the West door in Cobh can trance is iconographic origin to Santa Pudenziana in Rome, and closely resembles St Clothilde in PAris in several respects, the inclusion of figures such as Colman and Ita make a loud statement that all of this cultural inheritance has been “inculturated” in a very particular form, not only in Ireland, but in the locality of the present Cathedral itself.
I cannot tell you how outraged I am that a clown would propose digging out one of the most important floors in the building, atomizing it and using it as salvage WITHOUT ever bothering to know anything of its significance – either cultural or religious. No study has been done on the iconographic scheme of the mosaic work in Cobh. Yet any hooligan is apparently at liberty to walk in and dig holes in the floor with immunity. Clearly, Cobh Town Council is not fit to be in charge of cow-sheds let alone one of the most important monuments in the country.
Kenmare also has a very interesting hammer-beam ceiling – much reminiscent of ST. Joseph’s in Albany, New York. Fortunately, it has survived in tact – so far.
For those interested in the work of Ludwig Oppenheimer, I would be inclined to suggest that they visit the parish church in Kenmare, Co. Kerry. It has a magnificent mosaic floor in the sanctuary which can only have been made by Oppenheimer. In many respects, it reflects the same iconographic elements as that of the Sanctuary floor in Cobh Cathedral. It is also interesting to note that the altar rail (which survives) has a magnificent brass gate by J and G McGloughlin of Dublin – the same combination as at Cobh and in the Honan Cahpel in Cork.
C. Weber 1888-1889
St. Bavo, Raamsdonk, Brabant
In 1888, C. Weber began the construction of a new church in Raamsdonk. This is the current cruciform basilica type church in neo-Romanogothic style with cloverleaf-shaped eastern chancelt, with apses with ambulatories at the choir and the transept-arms. Although the western towers were never finished, this church is regarded as the architect’s finest work.
The tall dome is visible from a long distance. Tthe Germans thretaened to blow it uè during the war but the Parish Priest was able to persuade them otherwise. Unfortunately, the chancel has been destroyed by the liturgists who have installed a highly inappropriate organ in it.C. Weber
The Church of St. Bartholomew at Zevenbergschehoek, in Brabant 1886:
Cruciform basilican stylechurch with tall octagonal tower with polygonal dome. Details in Gothic style. Square towers on both sides of the facade. Choir and transepts with three-sided apses. The church was actually too large for this small village, but being located close to the border with Zuid-Holland, near the railroad crossing the border between catholic Brabant and protestant Holland, it had great symbolic value by showing the protestants that despite centuries of oppression, the Catholics were still there. Badly damaged in the Second World War, it was replaced by a new church.
