White Abbey Catholic Church — Kildare

Detached seven-bay double-height Gothic Revival Carmelite Catholic church, built 1884-9, on a cruciform plan comprising four-bay double-height nave with two-bay double-height transepts to north-west and to south-east having single-bay single-storey chapel to west and two-bay single-storey sacristy projection to south, single-bay double-height chancel to south-west having single-bay double-height polygonal apse, single-bay single-storey gabled projecting porch to entrance bay to north-east and single-bay four-stage corner tower to east on a square plan with broach spire. Gable-ended roofs with slate (gabled to chapel to west and to porch to north-east; half-polygonal to apse). Decorative red clay crested ridge tiles. Cut-stone coping to gables with cross finials to apexes. Cast-iron rainwater goods on cut-stone eaves course. Cut-granite broach spire to tower with lucarnes. Broken coursed squared limestone walls. Cut-granite dressings including stepped clasping buttresses having quoins and triangular capping, stringcourses (profiled stringcourse over entrance bay to north-east), and cut-stone course to eaves. Cut-granite dressings to porch including piers having chamfered corners with engaged colonettes, and decorative panel over door opening having lancet-arch hood moulding over. Cut-granite dressings to tower including clasping buttresses, quoins to corners, and stringcourse to top stage. Lancet-arch window openings to nave and to transepts. Cut-granite sills, block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals and hood mouldings over. Rose windows to gables to transepts with cut-stone surrounds having hood mouldings over. Paired lancet-arch window openings to apse in pointed-arch frame having oculus opening to arch, cut-granite block-and-start surrounds having chamfered reveals and hood mouldings over. Fixed-pane stained glass fittings to all openings. Trefoil-headed window openings flanking entrance bay to north-east in lancet-arch frames having trefoil to arch, cut-granite block-and-start surrounds and hood mouldings over. Rose window over entrance to north-east in cut-granite surround. Fixed-pane stained glass windows. Square-headed door openings (including to porch). Cut-granite shouldered doorcases. Tongue-and-groove timber panelled doors. Pointed-arch openings to tower. Cut-stone surrounds. Fittings not visible. Paired lancet-arch openings to top stage with cut-granite surrounds having colonettes, chamfered reveals and hood mouldings over. Louvered fittings. Full-height interior open into roof. Timber pews. Exposed timber construction to roof on cut-stone corbels. Paired lancet-arches to transepts on polished granite columns. Carved Gothic-style furniture to altar. Set back from road in own grounds. Tarmacadam forecourt to front. Rendered boundary wall to east with sections of cast-iron railings over.