Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, 22 Tullyodonnell Road, Dungannon, BT70 3JE

Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception

This mid-19th century stone church in Gothic Revival style stands in a rural setting on the west side of Tullyodonnell Road, Dungannon, set back from the road within its own grounds. Built in 1860 for the Reverend J. McKenna to replace an earlier church, it comprises a nave and chancel with a small vestry on the north side of the chancel.

The church is constructed of snecked hammer-dressed sandstone rubble with smooth sandstone dressings to openings. It has a projecting eaves course and a battered base. The roofs are laid in Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with cast iron rainwater goods featuring moulded gutters and circular downpipes.

The main entrance faces east from the centre of the nave gable. A central slightly projecting shouldered porch with a battered base and gable copings rises to a stone finial of fleur-de-lys form, with a recessed Latin cross in the apex of the porch gable. The entrance contains a pair of modern rectangular ledged timber doors with a leaded Gothic arched fanlight set in a chamfered Gothic arched opening. Above the porch are three Gothic lancets in the main gable, each containing leaded glazing behind storm glazing and surmounted by a drip moulding with shaped stops. Above the central lancet is a recessed plaque inscribed 'Erected by the Rev J. McKenna A.D. 1860'. In the apex of the main gable above is a small quatrefoil opening in a circular surround, surmounted by a semi-circular drip moulding with nail-head stops. The main gable is topped by a weathered gabled bellcote containing a bell in a Gothic arched opening and surmounted by a stone wheel cross.

The south elevation comprises a four-bay nave with a short chancel extending to the left. The chancel walling has a weathered set-back at cill level. The four windows to the nave are simple Gothic lancets glazed as before, without drip mouldings. The chancel has two similar but smaller windows.

The west elevation shows the chancel gable with the small vestry set back to the left. The chancel gable contains a triplet of windows comprising a central cusped two-light with circular tracery light, flanked by simple lancets on each side, all in drip mouldings and glazed as before. Both the nave gable and chancel gable are surmounted by stone wheel crosses. The vestry's west elevation has two small Gothic arched windows. Its north gable contains a slightly projecting chimney breast rising to a small stop-chamfered chimney weathered on top, with a plain projecting stone shield on the breast. The east side of the vestry has a shouldered rectangular timber sheeted door and a small lancet window.

The north elevation of the nave and chancel mirrors the south elevation. There are three windows to the nave, with the easternmost bay occupied by a doorway. This doorway contains a Gothic arched timber sheeted two-leaf door surmounted by a projecting cusped arch with a corbelled gable over it, rising to an ornamented stone cross.

The church is well proportioned with plain and robust character, exhibiting a minor degree of appropriate ornamental embellishment in its stone cross finials and nicely varied stone canopies to the two nave entrances. Interior reinstatement following destruction by fire has been achieved in a generally sympathetic manner, though some of the fittings and furnishings now have a somewhat modern feel. The roof was rebuilt and the interior reinstated following an arson attack around 1997.

The building enjoys a largely unspoiled rural setting within its associated graveyard. It is approached from the main road by a wide pedestrian gateway raised from road level on concrete steps, leading to a concrete paved area in front of the main entrance. Pavings continue around the perimeter of the building as a path. The grounds are laid out with small lawns to the north and a grassy graveyard to the south and rear. The front boundary is formed by a rubble stone wall with roughly cut crenellated stone copings. The main gateway contains a pair of original ornamented ironwork gates hung on a pair of square sandstone piers of unusual design, conventionally chamfered but also incorporating a carved rope moulding and carrying gabled caps surmounted by plain cut wheel crosses, all set back slightly from the front wall. A smaller pedestrian gateway at the northern end of the front boundary contains a simple original flat iron gate. The boundary to the north comprises a similar rubble wall to the front but of greater height, containing a pair of modern steel gates leading into an extensive tarmac car park. Standing adjacent to the vestry is a small modern single storey slated and gabled building of smooth rendered finish, appropriately designed for the setting.