St Peter's Church, Ballymodan (also referred to as St Peter's Church, Bandon) is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 located in Ballymodan, Bandon,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was completed in 1849. It is part of the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross. It is a middle-pointed,

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

church.

History

The church is situated on the site of an earlier church dating back to 1614, which was also dedicated to

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

. The old church was demolished and the new church erected because the parishioners did not like the architecture of the original building. Construction began in 1847, with the foundation stone being laid by the Earl of Bandon on 9 March that year. The church was consecrated on 30 August 1849. The chancel was remodelled in 1893 by James Fuller. Many prominent families in Bandon acted as patrons of the church, the earls of Bandon of Castle Bernard in particular. There are numerous memorials and tablets in memory of members of the Bernard family located in the church as a result. The church was closed between 1963 and 1964 for repairs. As part of these repairs, the church was reroofed and an exterior parapet was removed. A modern heating system was installed, along with a sound amplification system. The cost of the works amounted to

IR£ The pound ( Irish: ) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or £Ir for distinction.) The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin circulation until ...

17,000. St Peter's was rededicated on 17 November 1969. In 1973, Christ Church, Bandon was deconsecrated and much of the furnishings were transferred to St Peter’s.

Architecture

St Peter's church is constructed in the Gothic Revival style. It is a middle-pointed, cruciform church. The architect was Joseph Welland, and the church was built by Thomas Carroll between 1847 and 1849.

Interior

The floor of the church is

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

ed. 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, accesse ...

is built of

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

. The tower of the church contains a

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

of six bells, which were dedicated in 1885. The dedication of the bells was performed by the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross, Robert Gregg. They were gifted by William Evans-Freke, the Lord Carbery, and his daughter the Countess of Bandon, in memory of Evans-Freke's wife, the Lady Carbery. The bells give the notes F, G, A, B, C, and D. The

tenor bell A "ring of bells" is the name bell ringers give to a set of bells hung for English full circle ringing. The term "peal of bells" is often used, though peal also refers to a change ringing performance of more than about 5,000 changes. By ring ...

weighs 15 cwt (~762 kg). The bells were made by Taylor & Co. in Leicestershire at a cost of £800.

Exterior

The clock on the tower of the church was previously used in the Council Chamber of the old Town commissioners. The clock and chimes had been silent for several years but were repaired in 1968 by the Bandon Chamber of Commerce at a cost of £300.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{coord missing, County Cork Churches in County Cork Churches in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross