St Mark's Church, Dundela, is a Grade A listed

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

located in the Sydenham area of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

History

For much of its history, the parish of Dundela was located within the neighbouring parish of Holywood, County Down. In the mid-19th century, due to the constant growth of Belfast and the local area, the Church of Ireland began holding services in a coach-house, and in 1863, in what is now Strandtown Primary School.

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

was commissioned to design a new church for the ever-growing parish, and groundbreaking for the new building took place in May 1876. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore,

Robert Knox Robert Knox (4 September 1791 – 20 December 1862) was a Scottish anatomist and ethnologist best known for his involvement in the Burke and Hare murders. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Knox eventually partnered with anatomist and former teache ...

, on 22 August 1878, after which it became a separate parish church from Holywood, with Thomas Hamilton as the first rector. The building was completed in 1891, with the addition of a chancel and two transepts, forming a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

structure. The church underwent a large restoration in 1976, led by

Stephen Dykes Bower Stephen Ernest Dykes Bower (18 April 1903 – 11 November 1994) was a British church architect and Gothic Revival designer best known for his work at Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and the Chapel at Lancing College. As an architect ...

. The rectory, to the south of the church, was built in 1887.

Bells

The bell tower contains a peal of ten bells, hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

. When the church was built, it was intended for there to be a ring of bells in the tower, and an eight-bell frame was provided, however only the treble and tenor were bought, due to the severe movement of the structure when these bells were rung. In the 1950s, a legacy was found providing for the installation of a ring, and the church commissioned

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

, England, for a ring of ten bells. The new ring, in the key of F#, was installed in 1955 in a new cast iron frame, and were dedicated on 23 April 1955 by the Reverend William Kerr, Bishop of Down and Dromore. Due to the structural movement, these were placed very low in the tower, and the weight of the tenor was kept as low as possible.

C. S. Lewis

The church is best known in popular culture for its connection to

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

(1898–1963), whose grandfather, Thomas Hamilton, was the first rector of the parish. Lewis was baptised in the church by him on 29 January 1899 as an infant. It is popularly believed that the character

Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character, he appears in all seven chronicles of the series. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion, and is described as the King of Beasts, the ...

, from ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

'', was based on the door handle of a lion (the Lion of Saint Mark) on the front door of the rectory. A replica is now installed in its place. Lewis and his brother

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

(1895–1973) donated a window to the church in memory of their parents in 1935.

Gallery

File:St Mark's Dundela.jpg File:St Mark's Rectory, Dundela.jpg, The now-disused rectory File:Rectory Doorknob, St Mark's Dundela.jpg, The door knocker thought to have inspired C. S. Lewis File:St Mark's Tenor Bell.jpg, The tenor bell, weighing 12-2-2

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...

and tuned to F# File:St Mark's Dundela, view from ringing room.jpg File:Dundela Church.jpg File:St Mark's Ringing Room.jpg, Ringing room of the church

References

External links

Church Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark's Church, Dundela Grade A listed buildings C. S. Lewis William Butterfield buildings Churches completed in 1891 Gothic Revival church buildings in Northern Ireland Church of Ireland church buildings in Northern Ireland Bell towers in Ireland Religious organizations established in 1878