The Church of Ireland is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion of churches. History of the church
The parish of Monkstown has its origins in the old medieval church site at the top of Carrickbrennan Road. The old church was built in 1668 using the stones from the original building. The old church was enlarged in 1748 but became too small for the congregation and deemed unsuitable for use by the 1780’s. In 1785, building work began on a new church in the centre of the village. It was consecrated on Sunday 30 August 1789. It was a plain rectangular building, designed to accommodate 340 worshippers. At this period Monkstown church was the only Anglican church between Ringsend and Bray. The plain Georgian style church was replaced by the present building between the years 1825 - 1831. The architect was John Semple (1801-82) who also designed St Mary’s Chapel of Ease, commonly called the ‘Black Church’ in Dublin’s north inner city. The building of the new church was a long and arduous affair and took 8 years to complete. The designs were changed on numerous occasions, four different building committees were appointed, fundraising for the building was inadequate, the builders went on strike, disagreements were common and Archbishop Magee who masterminded the whole project suffered from a stroke and died before the building was completed. The new church opened on Christmas day 1831 to very mixed reactions. The new church was a clever modification of the old Georgian church. Semple demolished the east end of the Georgian church, added two transepts with large galleries resulting in a ‘T’ shaped building. The Georgian nave is preserved in modified form from the west doors to where the transepts intersect the nave. The original interior was filled with pews facing a triple-decker pulpit, which in turn towered above a diminutive altar beneath. This arrangement of the interior, which even at the time of the opening of the church was considered rather old fashioned, lay emphasis on the ministry of the word and preaching rather than on the sacraments. Whatever about the interior, the exterior came in for some criticism also. One correspondent writing in the Dublin Penny Journal in 1834 describing the church as ‘a perversion of judgement and taste’! By the 1860’s the interior arrangement of Monkstown church was hopelessly out of date on ecclesiological grounds and its auditorium lay-out came in for criticism from the more progressive wing of the Church of Ireland. In 1865, Archbishop Trench in his charge to the diocese spoke of the ‘extraordinary unsightliness of many of our churches… the un-ecclesiastical character of their arrangements… the huge wooden fortress [triple-decker pulpits] rising up in the centre, blocking out all view of the chancel… a legacy from past times…’ Plans were discussed to rebuild Monkstown church but lack of funds resulted in a compromise instead to extend the church eastwards and create a new choir and chancel. Despite opposition that such an extension would ruin the harmony of Semple’s church, a plan by John McCurdy was approved and sanctioned by the archbishop. McCurdy was an inspired choice of architect and managed to marry his large eastward extension to the Semple ‘T’ shaped building so that the whole edifice blends seamlessly together. The architect Thomas Drew, most often associated with the restoration of Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral undertook a refurbishment of the church in 1883. He remodeled the transept porches, created the elaborate arcaded reredos behind the altar, installed the sanctuary floor tiles and designed the low screen wall at the top of the steps from the nave to the choir. He also designed a decorative high-Victorian paint scheme for the choir and sanctuary walls which unfortunately has not survived. The tiled floor in the sanctuary is interesting and involved the use of leftover tiles from the floors in Christ Church Cathedral. The lion’s head motifs on the tiling are identical to those used in the cathedral. The cost of erecting the Caen stone carved reredos was met by a Mrs Hart, and a shield bearing her cipher may be seen on the piece. Monuments The memorial tablets in the church are well worth reading and examining closely. Three were sculpted by Thomas Kirk, who also designed Nelson’s Pillar. They commemorate Richard Brown, John Armit and Annie Arthure. The oldest monument was moved from the old church at Carrickbrennan and was re-erected in the present church in 1789. It commemorates Dr Benjamin Domvile and dates to 1774. Stained Glass The stained glass windows are of varying dates and quality. The transept windows date from 1843 but the maker is unknown. The Mayer & Co east windows behind the high altar are known as ‘carpet windows’ due to their similarity to Persian carpet designs. The windows on the west side of the north and south transepts are war memorial windows and were made in 1920 by Douglas Sons & Co of Belfast. The pattered ‘cathedral glass’ windows on the south wall of the choir were installed in 1884 and do little to enhance the church. John Betjeman described such glass as ‘that odious invention of green and pink’! Altar The carved oak high altar in the sanctuary was designed by Richard Orpan in memory of Chancellor Dowse. The design on the front of the altar echoes the decoration on the reredos and arcading behind. The side chapel altar came from St John’s chuch, Mounttown when that church closed. Organ The organ is the fourth to be installed in the church. The first in 1789 stood on the west gallery of the Georgian church. The second instrument was installed in 1832 and was described as an instrument of ‘great power and sweetness’. A three manual Telford & Telford organ was installed in 1872. The present organ by Gray and Davison was installed in 1898 and includes an organ case designed by William Kaye Parry. The organ has been restored on a number of occasions since and is used for church services and recitals. Like it or loath it, Monkstown church is talked about to this day in architectural and historic circles. It is distinctive, loud and brash, it is a landmark in the centre of the village, it captures the imagination and encourages comment and analysis. It is photographed daily and visitors are inspired by it. It makes one smile or frown and is greatly loved by its parishioners. It looks Irish, Moorish, English. Its confection of battlements, finials, extraordinary paint decoration and plasterwork both clash and harmonise. It is affectionately known as the ‘chess piece church’ that ‘funny church’ in the middle of the road and even as the ‘cathedral’ of south Dublin! Whatever you think of it, thank you for visiting and may God bless you on your travels.
