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

St. Mary's Star of The Sea Roman Catholic Church

A free-standing Gothic Revival church built around 1865, constructed in rock-faced basalt rubble with sandstone ashlar dressing. The building is rectangular on plan with eleven bays, arranged with a triple-height central hall and single-storey lean-to aisles to both sides. It faces west on a corner site to the east of Shore Road and south of Whitehouse Park in Newtownabbey. A square-plan four-stage tower with steeple was added to the southwest corner around 1899. Gable-fronted entrance porches are attached to either side aisle, and a further two-bay two-storey vestry is attached to the northeast corner.

The main hall has pitched natural slate roofs with roll-moulded terracotta ridge tiles. Sandstone ashlar fractables crown all gables, surmounted by iron crosses on the main body and stone crosses on the vestry and porches, with gabled skew corbels at eaves level. Replacement metal rainwater goods run beneath a concave moulded sandstone eaves course. A large sandstone ashlar chimneystack to the vestry carries a pair of tall decorative sandstone chimney pots.

The steeple comprises an octagonal-based sandstone ashlar broach-spire rising from the square tower behind a decorative parapet. Octagonal turrets rise from the broaches with blind panels and crocket finials. Four lucarnes adorn the spire, each featuring a pair of gothic arches set within a pointed-headed arch containing timber louvers, flanked by slender colonnettes and a steep gablet surmounted by a crocket finial. An elaborate wrought-iron Celtic cross tops the spire.

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

The principal gable features a large Gothic relieving arch with sandstone hood moulding framing three lancet window openings formed in splayed sandstone ashlar with trefoil-headed lights containing weather glazing and stained glass. The spandrel contains a pair of roundel openings in sandstone ashlar with blind trefoil panels. To either side of the principal gable (on the north side aisle and first stage of the tower) is a Gothic window with basalt relieving arch, sandstone hood moulding with block label-stops, and bipartite sandstone ashlar geometric tracery containing a pair of trefoil-headed lights surmounted by a quatrefoil light and flanked by daggers, all glazed in stained glass.

The second stage of the tower on the west elevation contains a Gothic opening with relieving arch and hood moulding with foliate label-stops. Within is a trefoil-headed blind arch with a pair of colonnettes featuring foliate capitals and dog-tooth detailing to the arch, above a splayed flush sill with an empty octagonal plinth base. The south elevation at second stage has a pair of lancet openings with basalt relieving arches, hood mouldings and quarry-glazing, repeated as a single window opening to the east elevation. The third stage of all four elevations features an oculus opening with semi-circular hood moulding and cinquefoil sandstone frame with quarry-glazing. The fourth stage (bell-stage) on all four elevations contains 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 frames, containing pairs of lancet openings with trefoil or quatrefoil lights above, glazed in stained glass and weather glazing. At clerestorey level, a series of geometric window openings in sandstone ashlar alternate in shape and contain fixed-pane iron-framed quarry-glazing. The rear gable displays a Catherine wheel window in sandstone ashlar with semi-circular stone relieving arch, centre quatrefoil and sandstone colonnettes forming trefoil-headed lights with stained glass and weather glazing. Below are a pair of pointed-arched window openings in splayed sandstone ashlar with stone relieving arches, continuous hood moulding and moulded sandstone sill course, containing trefoil-headed lights with stained glass and weather glazing. The vestry contains 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. Bipartite window openings are repeated to the ground floor.

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

The main entrance to the front gable is a squat Gothic opening with basalt relieving arch and hood moulding with head-stops. A pointed trefoil-headed opening with foliate cusps is surrounded by a compound doorcase comprising a pair of colonnettes with foliate capitals on splayed plinth bases, supporting a compound moulded soffit with dog-tooth detailing. Double-leaf vertically-sheeted timber doors feature elaborate wrought-iron hinges. The door openings to the projecting porches on either side and to the vestry entrance comprise 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 (a single-leaf steel replacement door serves the vestry).

The church stands within its own landscaped grounds, which include a multi-bay two-storey rendered parochial house to the south with attendant outbuildings. The entire complex is enclosed to the west and north by a low rubble stone wall. The basalt wall to Shore Road is topped with sandstone saddle-back coping, while the wall to the north (Whitehouse Park) has stacked rubble stone coping. Entrances and corners are terminated in sandstone ashlar piers with bowtell stop-chamfered corners and roll-moulded saddle-back capstones. A pair of wrought-iron gates with gothic detailing and floral finials provides the main vehicular front entrance. A pedestrian wrought-iron gate to the southwest and a further gate to Whitehouse Park display similar detailing.