Redundant church buildings can be brought back to life for a variety of uses, writes FRANK MCDONALD
More than 20 years ago, at a time when Protestant churches in Dublin seemed to be closing one after the other, the then Church of Ireland archbishop, Alan Buchanan, memorably declared: “You must remember that we’re in the business of saving souls, not buildings.”
But an optimistic new publication by the Ulster Historic Churches Trust, New Life for Churches in Ireland, shows that redundant church buildings can also be saved – and brought back to life for a variety of domestic, cultural, community and even commercial uses.
It is a sad reality, as trust chairwoman Primrose Wilson notes, that churches become redundant “mainly because of demographic changes and the increased secularisation of our society”. This need not be a disaster, however, as shown by case studies “across the island of Ireland”.
St Mary’s Church on Dublin’s Mary Street, where Arthur Guinness was married and Wolfe Tone baptised, is one of those featured. Closed in 1986, it has since made the transition from sacred to profane and lives on, with most of its fittings intact, as the Church bar and restaurant.
As architectural historian Edward McParland notes in the book, “notwithstanding compromises of bar, of extra staircase to south gallery and of food lift from basement kitchen to north gallery, the volume of the original 18th-century nave can be appreciated”.
Reversibility
All of the converted churches featured in the book were selected on the basis of such criteria as showing respect for the original design, taking a conservation-led approach, dealing sensitively with historically important features and fittings, and addressing the issue of reversibility.
As Primrose Wilson and conservation architect Mary Hanna explain, “all interventions in a historic church should be reversible so that it can be converted to a space for other, perhaps more appropriate, uses at another time”. In other words, a light touch is what is needed.
They concede that finding new uses for church buildings is challenging because their layouts “do not lend themselves to modern adaptation”. As a result, a balance must be found “between finding a sustainable and viable new use for a church and compromising the building”.
One of the finest examples is the former Congregational Church in Kilmainham, Dublin, where John J O’Connell Architects floated a new timber floor almost one metre over the original tiled floor as a clever move in converting the building into a really comfortable home.
In Co Fermanagh, the tiny country church in Tattykeeran, near Colebrooke, has been converted by architect Nathan Armstrong into a unique and distinctive home for his parents – with the addition of a partial mezzanine and a linked barn-like bedroom block, clad in timber.
Other uses
Many of the other redundant churches featured in the book have been converted to other uses. For example, Christ Church on College Square North in Belfast was renovated to provide a new library for one of the city’s oldest schools, the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
Elmwood Hall, a former Presbyterian church, has been restored by Consarc for Queen’s University Belfast as a concert hall with seating for 550; it served as a much-loved home for the Ulster Orchestra before the orchestra returned to the Ulster Hall after its recent renovation.
In Dún Laoghaire, the Mariners’ Church is not only an architectural landmark, but has been a lofty setting for the National Maritime Museum of Ireland since it closed for worship in the 1970s. The museum reopened last June after a refurbishment by architect James Slattery.
The former Franciscan church near St Laurence’s Gate in Drogheda, Co Louth, is now the Highlanes Gallery for the town’s municipal art collection, assembled by artist Bea Orpen and her husband, CEF (Terry) Trench; its renovation by McKevitt Architects is described as “exemplary”.
In Carlingford, Co Louth, the former Holy Trinity Church was turned into a community-based heritage centre. And in Carrick-on-Shannon, St George’s Church – dating from 1827 – is now the centrepiece of a heritage and visitor centre, while continuing as a place of worship.
Cork’s Triskel Arts Centre has been immeasurably enriched by the inclusion of Christ Church, which previously housed the city archives after closing in 1979. The fact that its galleried interior and box pews have all survived makes it ideal for concerts and symposiums.
Heroic rescue
Heroic is the only word one can use to describe the rescue of St George’s Church on Hardwicke Place, Dublin, by developer Eugene O’Connor; for years, its landmark triple-tiered steeple had been festooned with scaffolding that helped to hold it up.
Conservation architect James O’Connor did a superb job on the fabric of the neo-classical edifice, designed by Francis Johnston, while Joseph Doyle Architects used glass and steel to create office floors for which tenants will hopefully be found – to justify the €7.5 million scheme.
Grave matters Things to consider when buying a church
A church needs to be formally deconsecrated before it is put up for sale. Those with graveyards can present problems in terms of installing new services (electricity cables, plumbing lines etc).
Although most graveyards tend to be old, with no new burials, there might be requests for access to a grave for research purposes.
This would not be a problem if the new use was public (such as a library). But prospective purchasers of a church for conversion to private residential use might be put off by the very fact that it had a surrounding graveyard – especially if there was a prospect of new burials.
In Northern Ireland, if a church is listed for protection, the new owners would be eligible to apply for grant aid of up to 45 per cent of the cost of repairs to the fabric of the building.
In the Republic, applicants for similar assistance are likely to be disappointed as the funds available to the Heritage Council and local authorities for grant aid for historic buildings have been slashed.
