The Rectory in Moor

Detached three-bay three-storey over basement former Church of Ireland rectory, built c. 1823, with single-bay single-storey gabled porch to the front elevation (north). Now disused. Hipped slate roof with centrally placed rendered chimneystack on L-shaped plan, and with cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast rendered walls, with chamfered dressed limestone string course at basement levels. Render coming away in places, exposing rubble stone construction beneath. Square-headed window openings with stone sills and now with painted boards to imitate windows. Paired window openings to the central bay at ground floor of rear (south) elevation. Rendered lined-and-ruled walls to porch, with square-headed entrance opening to south elevation having timber panelled double door. Former segmental-headed entrance opening evident behind porch. Accessed via flight stone steps with cast-iron handrail. Set back from road in extensive mature grounds to the northwest of Ardagh with modern house to grounds. Multiple-bay two-storey outbuilding/stable block to the west having hipped natural slate roof, cast-iron rainwater goods and roughcast rendered walls. Square-headed openings with remains of timber battened shutter and timber sliding sash windows. Oculus to first floor. Coursed limestone boundary walls to road-frontage (east). Main entrance gateway to the east having a pair of dressed limestone gate piers (on square-plan) with stepped capstones, cast-iron double leaf gates, and stone livestock grid.

This imposing Church of Ireland rectory retains its early form and character despite being out of use since the 1960s. It is well-proportioned with diminishing window openings, while the regularity of its three-bay elevations creates an almost cubic effect. The massive L-shaped chimneystack is an interesting feature that gives this building a distinctive roofline. This is a much larger structure than is usually encountered with Church of Ireland rectories suggesting that it was (also) used for another purpose, perhaps as a bishop’s palace or for diocesan administration. Indeed, the nearby Church of Ireland church (St. Patrick’s 13312032) was, for a while, a cathedral church until the Dioceses of Ardagh and Kilmore were united in 1839. It cost £1383 to build, and Lewis (1837) records that this structure was built in 1823 ‘by a gift of £100 and a loan of £1200 from the Board of First Fruits’. The ruinous but good quality two-storey outbuilding to the rear, the boundary walls and the attractive entrance gates complete the setting and add to this notable composition. It forms an interesting pair of related structures with the associated Church of Ireland church (13312032) to the southeast.