Saints Peter and Paul's Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church located on Carey's Lane in

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

Peter and Paul's was built to replace Carey's Lane Chapel, a much smaller structure built in 1786. Under the guidance of

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

John Murphy, a design competition was run in the 1850s and won by

E. W. Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was ...

, son of

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

. The foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1859. Though the construction of the church was completed in on 29 June 1864, and the public were granted the opportunity to view the interior of the church at this time, the church was unable to open as the debts associated with its construction had not yet been paid off. Exactly two years after the church first welcomed members of the public to enter, it was dedicated for worship on 29 June 1866. Between 1939 and 1962, the roof of the building was renewed, and the baptistry was repaired. In the 1980s the building underwent major renovations.

Architecture

The church comprises a central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with gable roof and two

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s. The walls are of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

with limestone dressing. The aisles are at either side of the nave, which is covered with a gable roof. The ridge of the roof is decorated by ornamental ironwork, partly gilt, terminated at the western

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

by an ornamental cross with foliated arms. The grand altar is carved from 36 tons of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

. The pavements surrounding the altar, and the steps, are all of white Italian vein marble. The

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

is decorated with blue and gold ceiling panels. The flooring of the church is in white and black marble. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and

confessionals A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but simil ...

were carved from Russian oak by craftsmen from

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

and Cork.

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

Official siteImage gallery
Buildings and structures in Cork (city) Roman Catholic churches in Cork (city) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866 Roman Catholic Diocese of Cork and Ross Gothic Revival church buildings in the Republic of Ireland E. W. Pugin church buildings 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland {{Ireland-church-stub