Church in Fethard

S of the eastern end of Main Street and within the town wall (TS070-040032-), which kinks out to form its southern boundary. The medieval parish church was built along the edge of the old river terrace c. 1208 (Reg. St John, 294) and dedicated to St John the Baptist. In 1208 William de Braose made a grant of property in Fethard to the Hospital of St John the Baptist without the New Gate, Dublin who were Fratres Cruciferi or Crouched/Crutched Friars. In 1305/06 the prior of the Hospital surrendered the duty to provide pastoral care (the vicaria) to the archbishop of Cashel but retained the rectoria or rectory, with the monetary entitlements that entailed (ibid.). The rectory remained part of the Hospital’s possessions until the Dissolution in 1540 (Irish State Papers SP65, vol. 2). Recorded in the Ormond Deeds, a case concerning a bigamous marriage was heard by the Bishop of Ferns in the parish church in 1479 (COD III, 236-8). Sometime following the Reformation the church was rededicated to Holy Trinity, though it may have fallen out of use for a short time as in 1543 the chancel is described as being in disrepair (Fiants, Hen. VIII, 43). By 1544 the last prior of the Hospital of St John the Baptist in Dublin, Sir Thomas Everard, had become vicar of Fethard. Presumably the church became Anglican and its loyalty to the Crown was displayed on an armorial plaque (TS070-040093-) bearing the arms of Henry VIII. The Royal visitation of 1615 describes the chancel as in good repair (Butler 2006, 282; Murphy 1912, 286). A portable altar stone, found in the 19th century but now missing, is inscribed in Latin and translated reads, ‘Mr. Paul Hacquet, Vicar of Fethard, had this altar made [in] 1636’ (Vigors 1891, 488-9). The church, of roughly coursed limestone construction, consists of a nave (dims 25.5m x 6.05m) and chancel (dims. 13.9m x 7.25m), the former with side aisles (Wth 2.9m), separated from the nave by pointed arches on plain square columns, probably 13th in date. The nave is divided into four bays, the easternmost of which is now used as the sanctuary. Arches running N-S across the side aisles, further articulate the bay divisions. The remains of a round-headed, blocked-up doorway can be seen in the external wall of the S aisle, a carved human head terminates one side of the hood-moulding. This elevation also shows evidence of lime-washing. There is a small stair-turret at the E end of the nave which in former times would have given access to the rood loft. The remains of a side chapel (dims. 13.23m x 5.38m) lie to the S of the former nave, this has a piscina in the S wall and a sconce in the E wall. On the S wall-head there are three gutter stones and the fragmentary remains of an original parapet. The chancel, now roofless, retains a 13th-century tomb recess in its N wall. It was lit by a late 15th-century three-light E window with round-arched lancets and flowing tracery, much of which is missing. This window is identical to the window in the S chapel. There are the remains of two two-light round-headed windows with hood-mouldings in the N wall and a similar two-light and three-light window in the S wall, all of 16th-century date. There is a round-arched piscina in the N wall, as well as two doorways, both blocked up. One gave access to a two-storey sacristy which had been added onto the S wall of the chancel. The sacristy appears to have been deliberately built to accommodate access from the second doorway to the exterior. In the late 16th/early 17th century a third storey was added onto the sacristy. A setback in the E gable of the chancel indicated that it had a parapet on its N and S walls. In the late 15th century the church was remodelled, with the addition of a 23m high bell tower at the W end, the insertion of traceried windows and a new clasped purlin roof. The oak timbers dating to 1489 ± 9 years, still survive under the later roof of c. 1800 (Brown 2011; Leask 1960, 56, 127; http://www.fethardbusiness.com/Town/town/old/roof.html downloaded 18 November 2014). The bell tower has external string-coursing, is square in plan and has an unusually high parapet with stepped crenellations and corner turrets. The tower has a large (dims. 4.20m x 2.40m) five-light west window with late 15th-century flowing tracery. The church’s present appearance owes much to extensive renovations in 1785 (Butler 2004, 105) which resulted in the loss of the parapets that appear to have run E-W along both sides of both aisles. It seems likely that at this time the chancel was abandoned, the chancel arch (still discernible) blocked up, an E window with switch-line tracery inserted at the E end of the nave and the fenestration in the aisles changed. In the 1860s a doorway was broken into the N wall of the chancel to provide access to a burial vault inserted into the NE angle. The doorway into the sacristy was blocked and a flat-headed doorway inserted in the S wall. Internally the easternmost portions of the N and S aisles of the church were partitioned off, the N side housing an organ and the S side becoming the vestry. Within the church there are a number of medieval and early modern graveslabs (TS070-040076- to TS070-040089-; TS070-040095- to TS070-040097-) and wall monuments (TS070-040092-). There are also graveslabs (TS070-040090-; TS070-040091-; TS070-040094-; TS070-040098- and TS070-040099-) in the graveyard (TS070-040031-) which surrounds the church. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 12 May 2015