St. Johns Church — Limerick City,irishtown

The Urban Survey of Limerick recorded the following details about St. John's Church; 'Situated in the south end of the Irish town this is listed among the churches of Limerick in the inquisition of 1201-2 (MacCaffrey 1907, 27, 28). Bishop Donatus O’Brien’s ordinance of 1204-6 specifically describes it as "within the city of Limerick", implying that it was within the walls by that time. It was included among the Limerick churches to which Geoffrey Galwey left a bequest of 6s. 8d. in 1445 (Westropp 1898, 122-3). Thomas Dineley’s sketch of 1680 shows the church as having two aisles with east windows of Gothic tracery (Shirley 1864-6, 435). The central gable had a plain rectangular window set in the arch of an older one. In the north wall were a double light with pointed heads, a single lancet and a pointed door; there was a double bell-chamber on the east gable' (Bradley et. al. 1985, 325). In 1827 the following details were recorded; 'St. John's Church forms one side of the square at the rere of John's-street, in the southern extremity of the city. The precise period of its erection cannot be ascertained, but the foundation was probably coeval with the fortification of the Irish Town in the early part of the fifteenth century. The length of the church from East to West is sixty feet, the breadth sixty-three, and the whole circumference of the church and church-yard is five hundred and fifty feet. In 1763, five hundred pounds were raised, by the voluntary contributions of the parishioners and the sale of pews, with which the church was considerably enlarged and beautified ; and since the occupancy of the present excellent Vicar, the Rev. Mr. Fitzgibbon, a neat organ has been put up and further improvements made which render the church extremely neat and commodious. Before the alterations in 1763, it contained a handsome monument of the Power family, which was surrounded by figures of the twelve Apostles carved in stone, with the family arms, &c. and underneath was the following inscription : THOMAS POWER, quondam civis Limericensis, et ejus uxor JOANNA RICE, hoc monumentum haeredibus suis construxerunt, in quo ambo sepeliuntur. Ora pro eis pius lector Quisquis eris qui transis, Sta, perlege, plora, Sum quod eris, fueramque quod es, Pro me precor ora. Hoc finito, A. D. 1622 Thomas Power, formerly citizen of Limerick, and Joanna his wife, erected this tomb for their posterity, in which both of them are interred. Pious reader, pray for them! Traveller, pause, improve your time, I, like you, have seen my prime, What I am, thou soon must be, Then prepare to follow me. Finished in the year of our Lord, 1622 The original entrance to the church was at the western door; to which it was again transferred, after the building of the square. Over the Eastern entrance in John's-street, was displayed a coat of arms handsomely cut in stone, with the following quaint inscription : Sursum Cor Contritus JOHANNES MURRAY, Aberdonensis Erected this Gate at his own Expences. Johannes Sinclair Sculpsit, 1693. Memento Mori. The inscription on a stone in the church-yard wall nearer to John's-gate, and bearing the same date, informs us that John Ford, Mayor, repaired the walls of this cemetery at his own expense after the havoc of the late siege. The Vicarage of St. John's is in the gift of the Pery family. It has a glebe house, but no glebe land; and the incumbent's income, which is extremely moderate, chiefly arises from the poundage levied on the houses in the Irish Town. According to the census of 1821 the population of the parish amounts to 11,797.' (Fitzgerald 1826-7, 558-60). Westropp gives the following details; 'It is named by Bishop Donat, 1200 and 1201, and many later documents. Fabric - It retains a few portions of the old fabric, though almost entirely remodelled. It measured 60 feet [18.3m] by 63 feet [19.2m], and had aisles. In 1680 Dyneley's sketch shows it as having two side aisles, with east windows, having rich Gothic tracery. The central gable had a plain rectangular window, with shafts, set in the arch of the older one. In the north wall were a double light, with pointed heads, a single lancet, and a pointed door; there was a double bell-chamber on the east gable. Monuments - Before the rebuilding of 1763 there was a fine monument of Thomas and Johanna Rice, 1622, and a tablet of John Foorde, Mayor, 1693, calling the church "Sancti Johannis de Sancta Cruce." Description- Fitzgerald, vol. ii., p. 558' (Westropp 1904-5, 358). Present church described by the National Inventory of Architectural heritage as a 'Freestanding double-height Romanesque style limestone church, built in 1851, on the site of a mediaeval church. Gabled west elevation with centrally-placed Romanesque portal door opening and blind arcade of three round arches at first floor level, and rose window to gable above. Square-plan three-stage tower to southwest corner, with a splay-foot pyramidal limestone spire, rising from nail-head enriched cornice, having foliate fleur-de-lis to corners and capped by foliate finial. Apsidal east end and sacristy to northeast corner. North and south sides comprising four-bay single-storey aisle elevations with clerestorey elevation articulated by shallow piers and an oculus window to each bay. Pitched natural slate roof with ridge comb tiles. Lean-to natural slate aisle roofs and five-sided natural slate apse roof. Site enclosed by rubble boundary wall altered or possibly rebuilt to the southwest side with the insertion of metal railings. Historic boundary wall recently demolished to east side. Located on the site of an eleventh-century church, Saint John's was oriented to address the open north side of John's Square. This important historic site is adjacent to the former John's Gate and the town walls where the existing Citadel is located and incorporated within Saint John's Hospital. The Catholic Cathedral of Saint John's dominates the area to the east. Saint John's was built by the architect Joseph Welland (1798-1860), in the Norman Romanesque style in 1851' (www.buildingsofireland.ie/ Reg. No. 21513039). See attached image of St. John's Church taken from Dineley's Tour of Ireland c. 1680 Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 3 October 2018