St. Mary's Star of The Sea Roman Catholic Church, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT37 9RY

St. Mary's Star of the Sea is a free-standing Roman Catholic church in the Gothic Revival style, built around 1865 to designs by architect John O'Neill — described by architectural historian C.E.B. Brett as his first ambitious exercise in architectural design, probably commissioned in late 1861, and constructed between 1865 and 1867. The church is constructed of uncoursed rock-faced rubble basalt with sandstone ashlar dressings throughout, and is rectangular on plan, eleven bays wide and triple height, with a gable-fronted west-facing principal elevation. It stands on a corner site to the east of Shore Road and to the south of Whitehouse Park, within its own landscaped grounds. A square-plan four-stage tower and steeple at the southwest corner was added around 1899, built under the supervision of J.J. McDonnell, though possibly to O'Neill's original designs. The exceptionally tall steeple is a local landmark, visible against the backdrop of the Antrim hills. The listing extends to the church itself, its gate piers, gates, and boundary walling.

Single-storey lean-to aisles run along both side elevations. A gable-fronted entrance porch is attached to each side aisle, and a two-bay, two-storey vestry is attached to the northeast corner. To the south of the church, within the same enclosed grounds, stands a multi-bay two-storey rendered parochial house with attendant outbuildings.

Roofs and Ridges

The main hall has pitched natural slate roofs with roll-moulded terracotta ridge tiles. All gables are finished with sandstone ashlar skew-tables (crow-stepped gable copings), surmounted by iron crosses to the main body of the church and by stone crosses to the vestry and porches, with gabled skew corbels at eaves level. Rainwater goods are replacement metal, discharging to a concave moulded sandstone eaves course. The vestry has a large sandstone ashlar chimneystack carrying a pair of tall decorative sandstone chimney pots.

The steeple takes the form of an octagonal-based sandstone ashlar broach spire rising from the square tower behind a decorative parapet. Octagonal turrets rise from the broaches, decorated with blind panels and crocket finials. Four lucarnes (dormer-like projections) adorn the spire, each containing a pair of Gothic arches set within a larger pointed-headed arch fitted with timber louvres, flanked by a pair of slender colonnettes and topped by a steep gablet with a crocket finial. An elaborate wrought-iron Celtic cross crowns the apex of the spire.

Walling and Buttresses

The main walling is uncoursed rock-faced rubble basalt with a sandstone ashlar splayed plinth course at the base. Rubble basalt and sandstone ashlar buttresses flank all bays along the side elevations, with sandstone offsets. At the northwest corner is a single-stage angle-buttress, and a three-stage buttress stands to the north of the entrance front. The steeple has angle-buttresses to all four corners, rising to the third stage; the buttress to the northwest incorporates the stairwell to the bell-chamber, lit by three loop-hole window openings, with weathering to either side of the buttress. Three-stage angle-buttresses are also present to the rear gable.

Windows

Window openings throughout are Gothic in character, with basalt relieving arches, sandstone hood mouldings with block label-stops, and flush sandstone ashlar splayed window frames.

On the principal west gable, a large Gothic relieving arch with sandstone hood moulding frames three lancet window openings formed in splayed sandstone ashlar. These have trefoil-headed lights containing weather glazing and stained glass. In the spandrel above sit a pair of roundel openings formed in sandstone ashlar with blind trefoil panels. To either side of the principal gable — in the north side aisle and at the first stage of the tower — are Gothic window openings with basalt relieving arches and sandstone hood mouldings with block label-stops. These contain bipartite sandstone ashlar geometric tracery with a pair of trefoil-headed lights surmounted by a quatrefoil light and flanked by a pair of dagger shapes, all glazed in stained glass.

At the second stage of the tower on the west elevation is a Gothic opening with a relieving arch and hood moulding with foliate label-stops, containing a trefoil-headed blind arch. This has a pair of colonnettes with foliate capitals, dog-tooth detailing to the arch, a splayed flush sill, and an empty octagonal plinth base. On the south elevation at second stage are a pair of lancet openings with basalt relieving arches, hood mouldings, and quarry glazing, repeated as a single window on the east elevation. At the third stage on all four elevations of the tower is an oculus (circular) opening with a semi-circular hood moulding and cinquefoil sandstone frame, glazed with quarry glass. At the fourth (bell) stage on all four elevations is a pair of compound Gothic openings formed in clustered colonnettes with foliate capitals, resting on weathered sills.

Windows to the side aisles are generally Gothic, with stone relieving arches, hood mouldings, and sandstone ashlar plate-tracery in splayed sandstone ashlar frames. Each contains a pair of lancet openings with either a trefoil or quatrefoil light above, fitted with stained glass and weather glazing. At clerestory level is a series of geometric window openings in sandstone ashlar, alternating in shape and containing fixed-pane iron-framed quarry glazing.

To the rear (east) gable is a Catherine wheel window formed in sandstone ashlar beneath a semi-circular stone relieving arch, with a centre quatrefoil and sandstone colonnettes forming trefoil-headed lights with stained glass and weather glazing. Below this are a pair of pointed-arched window openings in splayed sandstone ashlar with stone relieving arches, a continuous hood moulding, and a moulded sandstone sill course, containing trefoil-headed lights with stained glass and weather glazing. The vestry has a pair of lucarnes to the attic storey with bipartite Gothic window openings in flush sandstone ashlar containing quarry glazing and trefoil openings to the gablets; the bipartite window openings are repeated at ground floor level.

Doors

The main entrance on the front gable is a squat Gothic opening with a basalt relieving arch and hood moulding with head-stops. The doorway itself has a pointed trefoil head with foliate cusps, surrounded by a compound doorcase comprising a pair of colonnettes to either side with foliate capitals on splayed plinth bases, supporting a compound moulded soffit with dog-tooth detailing. The doors are double-leaf, vertically sheeted timber with elaborate wrought-iron hinges. The doorways to the projecting side porches and to the vestry entrance are Gothic openings with basalt relieving arches, hood mouldings with head-stops, and chamfered reveals with broach-stops. These are fitted with double and single-leaf vertically sheeted timber doors with decorative wrought-iron hinges, opening onto sandstone steps. The vestry has a single-leaf steel replacement door.

Setting and Boundary

The church is surrounded by a bitmac surface and enclosed to Shore Road by a low basalt wall with sandstone saddle-back coping. Entrances and corners are terminated by sandstone ashlar piers with bowtell stop-chamfered corners and roll-moulded saddle-back capstones. The rubble basalt boundary wall to the north along Whitehouse Park has a stacked rubble stone coping. The main vehicular entrance is provided by a pair of wrought-iron gates with Gothic detailing and floral finials. A pedestrian wrought-iron gate to the southwest and a further gate to Whitehouse Park show similar detailing.

Historical Note

The building first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902, captioned as "RC Chapel." Valuation revision records from 1864 to 1870 note a "Roman Catholic Chapel and land" listed under exemptions and valued at £180. The church does not appear on the second edition OS map of 1857, confirming its construction in the intervening period. Brett's Buildings of County Antrim (1996), drawing on O'Laverty's Down and Connor (1884) and the Builder journal of 1869, describes the church as O'Neill's first ambitious exercise in architectural design. This record was formerly combined with a separate listing for the gate piers, gates, and walling.