The Church of the Ascension is a small

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church belonging to the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

and located in

Timoleague Timoleague () is a village in the eastern division of Carbery East in County Cork, Ireland. It is located along Ireland's southern coast between Kinsale and Clonakilty, on the estuary of the Argideen River. Nearby is the village of Courtmac ...

, a town in

West Cork West Cork () is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Du ...

, Ireland. It is dedicated to the

Ascension of Jesus The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate ) is the Christianity, Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus entering heaven alive, ascended to Heaven. Christian doctrine, as reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional stateme ...

. Part of the Kilgarrife Union of Parishes in the

Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, also referred to as the United Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, is a diocese in the Church of Ireland. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Province of Dublin (Church of Ireland), Dublin. It ...

, the church is known for its intricate mosaics.

History

The site hosting the Church of the Ascension was previously the site of an earlier medieval church. It was reportedly still in good condition as late as 1699, with an average congregation of 80. On 21 August 1802, the Bishop ordered the church to be torn down, as it had become unsafe due to age and decay. He further mandated that the materials of the church be kept for the construction of a new church. The construction of the church was funded by a loan from the

Board of First Fruits The Board of First Fruits () was an institution of the Church of Ireland that was established in 1711 by Anne, Queen of Great Britain to build and improve churches and glebe houses in Ireland. This was funded from taxes collected on clerical inco ...

, and was constructed between 1810 and 1811. The church was consecrated on 25 May 1811. It followed the typical "church and tower" layout of an early Board of First Fruits church. Unlike later Board of First Fruits churches, it originally lacked both a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

. On 15 December 1832, Rev Charles Ferguson, the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of the church, was murdered in a field near Bandon. His killing has been attributed to discontent surrounding tithes. He was beaten to death with a rock, suffering "extensive fractures" to his skull, which left him "almost unrecognisable". A vestry and a chancel were added to the church between 1861 and 1863, and designed by ''Welland & Gillespie''. Bishop John Gregg refused to consecrate the new chancel, due to what he called a "graven" representation of the Crucifixion in the stained glass east window. The window remained hidden behind a curtain until the early 20th century. The southern transept was added in 1890.

Architecture

Exterior

The exterior of the church is typical of those funded by the Board of First Fruits. It has a simple, rectangular body, and is orientated east to west. Though the church is built in the Gothic Revival style, it is unusually unadorned. The church deviates from typical First Fruit churches in that the tower, to the west of the body of the church, features a clock which faces the town.

Interior

The church features an angel shaped font made of Carrera marble. The font is dedicated to Alice Maud Travers. The walls are of liver-coloured marble up to the room's dado, with many mosaics applied to the upper walls. Above the door of the church, there is painting portraying the

, in which the Apostles are present along with a panorama of Jerusalem.

Mosaics

The church is known for its interior mosaic decoration, which is in both European and Islamic style. Two sets of mosaics commemorate respectively the local landowning Travers family, and a local man, Lt.Col. Alymer Martin Crofts. The first of the set of mosaics commissioned by Robert Augustus Travers was commissioned in 1894. They feature a

star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

, a

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

, and a lamb on the chancel arch. Travers' wife, Laura Isabel, died in 1906 and Travers commissioned mosaics in her memory. These mosaics are Mughal in style, and feature various emblems such as lotuses,

fleur-de-lys The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

, and paschal lamps. Robert Augustus' son, Robert Valentine Travers, died aged 22 in 1915 during the Gallipoli campaign. Further mosaics on the side walls of the church depicting these events were commissioned by Robert Augustus in honour of his son. The second set of mosaics, dedicated to Surgeon-General Alymer Martin Crofts, were added to the church between 1918 and 1925. Crofts was from Cork, and had links with the Timoleague area. He went to India in 1877, where he stayed until 1914. While there, he was a tutor, mentor, and friend to the Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia of

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, who financed the mosaics in the church in Crofts' honour. The mosaics were likely designed by William Henry Hill. In 2021, the mosaics of the Church of the Ascension were the county winners for Cork in the county awards of Ireland's National Heritage Week.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

{{commons category, The Church of the Ascension, Timoleague, Church of the Ascension, Timoleague
Church of the Ascension - official website
Churches in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross 19th-century Church of Ireland church buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in the Republic of Ireland 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland