St. Patrick's Church is a

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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

within the

Diocese of Connor The Diocese of Connor, Territory of Dalriada, was established in the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111. The diocese itself was erected in 480. Tradition holds that St. Patrick herded sheep on Slemish, in the heart of the Diocese, when first brought ...

. Located in the town of

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, it is protected as a Grade B+ listed building.

History

St. Patrick’s Church is said to have been established by St. Patrick, after a local chieftain offered him a site for a church on the north bank of the

River Bann The River Bann (from , meaning "the goddess"; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is the longest rivers, river in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). The total length ...

in the 5th century. Patrick is said to have chosen a spot covered in ferns, giving rise to the name ''Cuil Raithin'' (or 'ferny retreat') which became the name of the town of

. A church is known to have existed on the site from at least the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

period.

Architecture

The building was remodelled in a Victorian

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 ...

style with elements of detailing which include some examples of

Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...

devices, such as the application of

shamrock A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of the Irish word and simply means "young clover". At most times'', Shamrock'' refers to either the species ...

motifs, by architect Sir Thomas Drew between 1883 and 1885.^,

References

Coleraine Churches in County Londonderry Church of Ireland church buildings {{NorthernIreland-Anglican-church-stub