St Mark's Church, Dundela | |
---|---|
Location | Holywood Road, Belfast |
Country | Northern Ireland |
Denomination | Church of Ireland |
Churchmanship | High Church |
History | |
Dedication | St. Mark the Evangelist |
Consecrated | 22 August 1878 |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade A listed |
Designated | 1 May 1986 |
Architect(s) | William Butterfield |
Groundbreaking | 1876 |
Completed | 1891 |
St Mark's Church, Dundela, is a Grade A listed parish church of the Church of Ireland located in the Sydenham area of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
For much of its history, the parish of Dundela was located within the neighbouring parish of Holywood, County Down. In the mid-19th century, due to the constant growth of Belfast and the local area, the Church of Ireland began holding services in a coach-house, and in 1863, in what is now Strandtown Primary School. [1]
William Butterfield was commissioned to design a new church for the ever-growing parish, and groundbreaking for the new building took place in May 1876. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore, Robert Knox, on 22 August 1878, after which it became a separate parish church from Holywood, with Thomas Hamilton as the first rector. The building was completed in 1891, with the addition of a chancel and two transepts, forming a cruciform structure. [1] [2] The church underwent a large restoration in 1976, led by Stephen Dykes Bower. [3] The rectory, to the south of the church, was built in 1887. [3]
The bell tower contains a peal of ten bells, hung for change ringing. When the church was built, it was intended for there to be a ring of bells in the tower, and an eight-bell frame was provided, however only the treble and tenor were bought, due to the severe movement of the structure when these bells were rung. In the 1950s, a legacy was found providing for the installation of a ring, and the church commissioned John Taylor & Co of Loughborough, England, for a ring of ten bells. [4]
The new ring, in the key of F#, was installed in 1955 in a new cast iron frame, and were dedicated on 23 April 1955 by the Reverend William Kerr, Bishop of Down and Dromore. Due to the structural movement, these were placed very low in the tower, and the weight of the tenor was kept as low as possible. [4] [5]
The church is best known in popular culture for its connection to C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), whose grandfather, Thomas Hamilton, was the first rector of the parish. Lewis was baptised in the church by him on 29 January 1899 as an infant. [6] It is popularly believed that the character Aslan, from The Chronicles of Narnia , was based on the door handle of a lion (the Lion of Saint Mark) on the front door of the rectory. [7] [8] [9] [10] A replica is now installed in its place.
Lewis and his brother Warren (1895–1973) donated a window to the church in memory of their parents in 1935. [11]
Clive Staples Lewis, FBA was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. He is best known as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, but he is also noted for his other works of fiction, such as The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, including Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.
County Down is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of 961 sq mi (2,490 km2) and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest.
John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. The business originated in the 14th century, and the Taylor family took over in 1784.
Holywood is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a civil parish and townland of 755 acres lying on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual jazz and blues festival.
Robert Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames, is an Anglican bishop and life peer, who served as Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006.
Dromore is a small market town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies within the local government district of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon. It is 19 miles (31 km) southwest of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast–Dublin road. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 6,003.
Farnborough is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Wantage. The village is 720 feet (220 m) above sea level on a ridge aligned east – west in the Berkshire Downs. It is the highest village in Berkshire.
Adlestrop is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, 3 miles (5 km) east of Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, on the county boundary with Oxfordshire. The River Evenlode forms the southwest boundary of the parish. The village is on a stream that flows southwest to join the river.
The Diocese of Down and Connor, is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh. The See is vacant; Archbishop Noel Treanor is currently the Apostolic Administrator pending the appointment of a new bishop.
The Oratory Church of Saint Wilfrid, York is a Catholic church in York, England.
The Diocese of Connor is in the Province of Armagh of the Church of Ireland.
John Baptist Crozier was a Church of Ireland bishop. He served as Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin (1897–1907), Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore (1907–1911), Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh (1911–1920).
St Mary's Church is the oldest parish church in the town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It stands in Churchgate overlooking the market place. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Stockport.
Arthur William Barton was a Church of Ireland clergyman, from 1939 Archbishop of Dublin.
The Cathedral Church of St. Fachtna, also known as the Cathedral Church of St Faughan,Ross Cathedral, and Rosscarbery Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Rosscarbery, County Cork in Ireland. Located in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin, it is the smallest cathedral in Ireland. Having once been the mother church of the Diocese of Ross, it is now one of three Anglican cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, alongside Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral and Cloyne Cathedral.
Great Haseley is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England. The village is about 4.5 miles (7 km) southwest of Thame. The parish includes the hamlets of Latchford, Little Haseley and North Weston and the house, chapel and park of Rycote. The parish stretches 6 miles (10 km) along a northeast — southwest axis, bounded by the River Thame in the north, Haseley Brook in the south and partly by a boundary hedge with Little Milton parish in the west. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 511.
Cuthbert Irvine Peacocke TD was the 8th Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, retiring in 1975.
St Oswald's Church is in the village of Warton, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of St Mary, Borwick and St John the Evangelist, Yealand Conyers. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The ruined remains of the medieval rectory survive next to the present vicarage to the west of the church.
Francis John McDowell is the current Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
John Murphy was an Irish bellfounder. His foundry, which started making bells in 1843, cast bells for many churches in Ireland and elsewhere, including several rings of bells hung for change ringing.
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