Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church, Belfast, Co. Antrim

Carlisle Circus is located to the north-west of Belfast city centre. Resembling more a modern day roundabout and flanked mostly by modern buildings, the area suffered badly during the Blitz of 1941. It does, however, contain one building of outstanding beauty and historical importance: the Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church. The church owes much of its history to a Belfast merchant, James Carlisle. Carlisle, who came humble origins in Co. Derry, made his fortune in the building and linen trades. He and his wife had two children, Mary, born 1840, and James, born 1852. Tragically both died, in 1874 and 1870 respectively. Stricken by grief Carlisle decided to erect a church as a fitting tribute to their memory. To do so he employed the services of William Henry Lynn, a local architect who had worked extensively throughout the United Kingdom. Lynn's commissions were primarily in the Gothic style, which was to be case for Carlisle's new church. Building commenced in 1875, and took only little over one year to be completed. It could seat over 1,000 people, unusually large for many Methodist churches, and was designed in the Gothic style, with transepts and a tall decorated spire. Its imposing appearance was enhanced by the use of local granite and sandstone, giving it a bright red look. 

Here is a view of the church before the erection of the adjoining Sunday school.

A view of the church's interior looking towards the chancel.

Like many inner city churches, Carlisle Memorial was a victim of shifting demographic patterns in the post-war period. While in many cities church closures came as a result of large swathes of the population leaving city centres for new suburbs. In the case of Carlisle Memorial the reasons were, however, a little different. Situated in north-west Belfast, it was located in an 'interface area', bordering both Catholic and Protestant populated areas. Sectarian violence led to a decline in the local Protestant population throughout the 1960/70s. This led eventually to the closure of the church in 1982. Initially it was thought that the church might be converted into social housing, but these plans went by the wayside. The church now lays in a perilous state, severely decaying. Hope maybe at hand though, with the church being placed on the World Monuments Fund list, with plans afoot to turn it into a 'shared heritage resource'.

This image shows Carlilse Circus, with the Memorial Church on the right and the Presbyterian, St Enoch's to the left. Erected in the early 1870s, it was one of the largest Presbyterian churches in all of Ulster. The church was lamentably demolished in the 1980s, having been the victim of fire. 

Holycross Abbey, Co. Tipperary

Readers of this blog, and indeed anyone enjoying an interest in Ireland's ecclesiastical heritage, may have already noticed a very clear difference the buildings of the the two main churches: the Catholic Church and the Protestant, Church of Ireland. Put at its simplest Catholic churches tend to be less venerable than those of their Reformed colleagues. Thanks to the spread of the Protestant Reformation and the expansion of royal power throughout Ireland the Catholic Church gradually lost the majority of its churches, with many being given to the new state church or indeed simply abandoned. Thus the vast majority of Catholic churches in Ireland are nineteenth or twentieth century, with a tiny handful of eighteenth century and earlier survivors. One of these survivors happens to be the glorious Holycross Abbey in Co. Tipperary, a rare example of a medieval working Catholic church. Founded originally in the twelfth century, the abbey that we see in the pictures here dates largely from a rebuilding in the 1400s. Home to a community of Cistercian monks, Holycross took its name from a relic of the True Cross that was held in the church. Indeed it was the relic that attracted the hoards of pilgrims whose alms helped pay for the splendid fifteenth century renovation. Falling gradually into a state of dereliction since the mid-seventeenth century, the abbey was finally restored in the 1970s. Having been designated a national monument in 1880, an Act of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament) was required to be passed in 1969 so that the abbey could be designated a Catholic place of worship. The subsequent restoration was completed in 1975, and the abbey was designated the new parish church.

Holycross was endowed by Donal Mór O'Brien, a Gaelic-Irish king of Thomand in 1180. Generally regarded as the last king of Munster, O'Brien had in his possession a relic of the True Cross, which he bestowed upon the newly founded abbey. Holycross was an abbey of the Cistercian order. Founded in the late eleventh century, the Cistercians were known for their strict observation of the Rule of St Benedict. In the sixteenth century the abbey was suppressed and given to the Earl of Ormond, Thomas Butler, thus commencing the ultimate period of decline.

This arcaded monument is most probably where the relics of the True Cross were displayed for public veneration.

This picture was taken looking west, from the chancel (where the altar is situated) down the nave towards the great west window. The church by this stage had been derelict for sometime, with burials taking place within the nave. The ornate monument on the left is called a sedilia. Literally meaning 'seats', sedilia was where the priest and his assistants sat during the Mass. A common sight in medieval churches, it was customary that they be recessed into the wall.

The view towards the altar and chancel on the left, with the entirely unroofed transept in the background.