St. Mary's RC Church, (Dreglish Parish), Drumlegagh Road, Envagh, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, BT81 7PL

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Drumlegagh Road, Castlederg

A detached Roman Catholic church dated 1846, built on the site of an earlier chapel, and located to the south side of Drumlegagh Road in Envagh, Castlederg. The building is a fine example of rural vernacular church architecture, despite substantial later alterations.

The church is rectangular in plan with the nave aligned north to south. A single-storey entrance porch was added to the north side around 1930, and sacristy and supporting accommodation were added to the south around 1990. The roofs are pitched natural slate with blue-black clay ridge tiles, flat stone verges, and replacement cast-metal rainwater goods supported on projecting eaves courses. The walls are roughcast rendered with droved finished stepped ashlar quoins.

The principal elevation faces north, where it is abutted at centre by the entrance porch. The exposed section contains three windows, with the outer windows diminished in size. A bellcote rises to the apex, surmounted by a stone cross finial, with a bell contained in a central round-arched-head opening. The entrance porch is detailed as a nave with shouldered gable and projecting smooth rendered plinth. The entrance on the east side consists of replacement off-centre square-headed double-leaf vertically sheeted timber doors within a plain smooth rendered surround. The north gable contains a datestone at the apex reading: "IN HONOREM SANCTISSIMAE TRINITATIS / FUNDATUM EST HOC TEMPLUM / SUB PATROCINIO BEATAE MARIAE / VIRGINIS BEOTOKOU / PRID. KAL. NOV. / MDCCCXLVI." This translates as: "In honour of the Most Holy Trinity / This Temple was built / under the protection of Blessed Mary / Virgin Mother of God / 31st October 1846."

The west gable contains a central pointed-arched-head stained glass window with smooth rendered banding and projecting masonry cill. The east elevation is four windows wide and contains a mason's mark to the quoin at the north corner. The south gable is ruled-and-lined rendered and is abutted at centre by the single-storey extension containing the sacristy. The extension is detailed as a nave and contains a cross finial to the apex. Access to the extension is located at the right of the east elevation through a replacement timber glazed door, with a timber casement window at the left. The south gable of the extension is blank with a roughcast rendered chimney to the apex. The west elevation of the extension contains a louvred timber door at the right, with a single casement window and a cat-slide roof.

The windows throughout are pointed-arched-head curvilinear tracery windows with chamfered mullions, stained glass, and external secondary glazing contained within chamfered droved finish painted surrounds with splayed cills. These original Y-tracery windows are among the important original details that remain despite later refurbishment.

The interior has been largely refurbished around 1990, with much original detailing replaced by modern finishes including casement windows, replacement timber panelled doors, and modern internal furnishings. However, some significant original details remain.

Historical context indicates that the first Ordnance Survey map to show the present church is the 1854 edition, which records an "R C Chapel" with a "Grave Yard" shown as a square building with a projection to the south elevation. The previous 1833 OS map records an earlier "R C Chapel" with a T-shaped plan. From 1907, OS maps record "St Mary's R C Church". The 1947 map shows the church as it appears today with the north porch added. The Townland Valuation of 1828-1840 records the "Roman Catholic chapel and yard" as valued at £2.8s, with the Annual Revisions of 1860-1929 showing a substantial rise to £15.15s, presumably linked to the new building. The OS Memoirs record that there were three Roman Catholic chapels in the area in 1835, including one in Envagh.

The church exterior remains largely intact, with the exception of the south extension, which has been added recently and appears to replace a structure present in the 1850s. The porch dates to around 1930.

The church is set on a roadside location with its graveyard to the west containing a range of early nineteenth-century grave markers. The site is bounded to the north by a random rubble wall with segmental coping. Vehicular access is via replacement cast-metal gates supported on random rubble square plan piers with pyramidal capping and ball finials, with a cast-metal overthrow bearing lettering. The church is adjacent to St. Eugene's Hall, located to the north.

The listing extends to the church building, gates, gate pillars, and boundary walling.