St Mary

St Mary's is a beautiful Church and still houses some fine examples of work by famous Victorian architects, artists and craftsmen. The main church is a cruciform plan with a central nave and altar running east west, transepts to the north and south, with a tower and steeple at the north west corner. 

The original building of St Mary’s began in 1859, undertaken by the industrialist Robert Monteith and inspired by his connections with the Oxford Movement. The architects were Weightman, Hadfield, Matthew and Goldie with later additions (1895-1901) by Pugin & Pugin who added the reredos, the Lady Chapel and the high altar. The Pugin influence can also be seen in the confessionals and the Minton encaustic floor tiles.

The early stained glass in the church is the work of James Ballantine, including the Rose Window above the high altar. However it is due to a major fire destroying half of the building at the turn of the century that leads to the real interest in the additional elements.

The architects responsible for the rebuild were the significant Dublin firm of Ashlin & Coleman, incorporating elements by the younger Pugin. In the later stained glass, the Arts and Crafts movement is well represented in the work of Margaret Agnes Rope (The Prodigal Son), and some outstanding windows by John Hardman & Co, who are often regarded as the masters of Gothic Revival.