Due to illness, the Harvest Service on Sunday 22nd October is cancelled and there will be no service on that afternoon.
This was to have been the last service sung by the Balligan Consortbefore they retired. We wish them well and thank them for their wonderful contribution to the worship at St. Andrew’s.
The new pattern for services will be a monthly said Evening Prayer on the second Sunday.
The next service in St. Andrew’s will be on November 12th at 3-30pm.
Holy Trinity Church
The HOLY TRINITY congregation cordially invites you to take a walking tour of our church.
Outside
The church is a complex building in a Gothic revival style with four bay Nave and side Aisle, single bay Porch,
Transept with Organ loft and single bay Chancel. The original Church was to the design of William Burn with significant additions including the side Aisle, by Thomas Drew in 1891.
Although not visible at ground level, it still has the original 1849 sandstone roof drains incorporated into the modern system. The building still retains all of the features of the 1891 church.
At the north end is the original 1849 graveyard area now a Garden of Remembrance contained by metal chain and containing a memorial to a former leader of the Mothers’ Union, Kathleen E Bailie (1890-1978) and to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Ballywalter Branch of the Mothers’ Union.
Inside
Begin at the East Door (main door) and continue in a clockwise direction around the church.
In the porch
The Roll of Honour is the original document from the 1914-1918 war and records those from the parish who were killed. During that war it would have recorded those who were away fighting. You can see at the top of the document where, after the war, it was altered to insert a list of those who had died.
In the church
Stained Glass windows and Battlefield Cross
Our church building is defined by its beautiful stained glass windows please take some time to look at them and note their richness and beauty
Commissioned from Heaton Butler and Bayne in 1919 by the Select Vestry, in memory of Capt A.E.S.Mulholland, and all his friends killed in action in Ypres France 1st November 1914. The central panel depicts soldiers in the trenches being led ”over the top”. The figure with the pistol represents their captain (presumable Captain Mulholland), as only officers could carry pistols.
The left panel depicts St Michael with the bible reference Rev 2.10
‘Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer; behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life’
The right panel depicts St George with the bible reference Rev.6.9
‘And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held’
This cross originally marked the grave of Capt AES Mulholland who was killed at the 1st battle of Ypres on 1st November 1914. When the War Graves Commission decided, in the 1920’s, to change to the headstones that all war graves now have, the family could pay to have the cross brought home.
There is a story that Capt Mulholland’s brothers, who had also served in France, went over to return a set of clock hands for the village clock (removed because a German sniper had been hiding in the tower) and brought the cross back with them. It was subsequently placed in the church underneath the memorial window. It is complete and still retains the base of the cross that was buried in the ground. Some of the crosses were very plain but this is a very fine example in the form of a celtic cross with scalloped decoration. When the war memorial at (1) was erected the cross there was fashioned in the same shape.
(a) (b) and (c) are by J. Clarke and Sons**(signed bottom right hand corner). (d) is a later window, possibly by Heaton Butler and Bayne, the maker favoured by the Dunleath family.
(a) Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, in memory of the wife of Revd Greer who died in 1898, commissioned in 1898 shortly after her death by her husband.
(b) John the Baptist and St Paul, in memory of Revd J.O’Reilly Blackwood who served twice as vicar of this parish (1878 -1884) and (1887-1895) and died in 1898, commissioned in January 1899 by Revd Greer
(c) St Thomas and St Patrick, in memory of Revd Greer, who died in 1899. Vicar from 1895-1899 Commissioned in June 1900.
(d) Martyrdom of St Stephen, in memory of Hon. Somerset Ward who died in 1912. The bible quotation on this window is from Acts 7 verse 59 ‘Lord Jesus receive my spirit’
(e) Triple window ‘Jesus the comforter’ has several bible readings echoing this theme and was erected in memory of Andrew Mulholland, who died in 1877 and was the father of the 1st Baron Dunleath. He was instrumental in the building of the Mulholland Grand Organ in the Ulster Hall.
This was erected in 1975 in memory of John and Elizabeth Eccles, contains the original 1849 Bible and Prayer Desk prayer book, also a list of former vicars of the parish back to 1437, Communion ware and the Gifts Scroll which lists gifts bestowed on the church in memory of former parishioners that are not commemorated elsewhere in the church.
1885: Vicar’s chair presented in 1885 in memory of Lizzie Cleland
1889: Henry L Mulholland presented new Communion Table
1891: Reseating of the whole church and new pulpit presented by John Mulholland Esq who later became 1st Baron Dunleath
1892: Sanctuary shelf given in memory of James Blackwood Glover
1924: Alter rails and panels were erected in memory of several members of the then Lady Dunleath’s family
1950: chairs at the communion table were presented by Minnie Dunwoody in memory of her husband, brother and sister.
1982: Alms dish presented by the Select Vestry in memory of Walter Brian, Hon Secretary of the Select vestry from 1962-1980.
(a) The large triple window depicts Jesus the Good Shepherd in the middle panel. The figures on either side are unknown at the present time. The window was erected in 1910 in memory of John Mulholland, 1st Baron Dunleath, by his family.
(b) The trefoil window with an angel in the centre was commissioned from J.A.Clarke & Sons in July 1899 by Revd Greer.
The organ was built by Peter Conacher in 1890-1891. It was paid for by public subscription. From January 1890 the collection from the second Sunday of every month went to the organ fund, the organ was commissioned and the first recital was given at the Easter Vestry 1891 by the organist, Hugh Magill.
The plaque states “The organ was erected to the praise and glory of God by this Congregation in the year 1891 J.O’Reilly Blackwood Vicar; Andrew Glover Vicar’s churchwarden; H.L Mulholland, People’s Churchwarden”
In 1966 the organ was tonally redesigned by the late Henry, 4th Baron Dunleath, a well-known expert in this area, making it unique among instruments of it’s age and size.
In 1999, to celebrate 150th anniversary of the building of the church, the keyboards and pedal board were refurbished and restored.
This is the latest of the stain glass windows . It depicts a countryside scene possibly Strangford lough erected in memory of the 3rd Lord Dunleath, who died in 1956 and was Henry Dunleath’s father.
10 .The Vestry
This is the clergy robing room and dates from the 1849 building. It has several photographs of former vicars of the parish and Lord Henry Dunleath when he became a Lay Reader for the Parish. Notable among the clergy is a photograph of the first vicar, Hugh Wilson.
11.Poster displays.
Please take time to look at the poster displays showing the 1849 plans and the 1892 extension of the church. Also the sentence of consecration.
Look at ordinance survey maps of the area before the church was built and the changes afterwards
There is also a display of photographs of the work carried out on our church roof. We are a B+ listed building and this was a conservation led project. We gratefully acknowledge generous funding from the Heritage Lottery towards this work.
Historical Note: The Stained glass window designers
Heaton Butler and Bayne (1)
Clement Heaton (1824–82) founded his own stained glass firm in 1852, and was joined by James Butler in 1855. Between 1859 and 1861 they worked alongside Clayton and Bell and were joined by Robert Turnill Bayne, who became their sole designer and a full partner in the firm in 1862. The firm was known as Heaton, Butler and Bayne from 1862.
His windows show strong design and colour, and are often recognisable by the inclusion of at least one figure with Bayne’s features and long beard. They became one of the leading firms of Gothic Revival stained glass manufacturers, whose work was commissioned by the principal Victorian architects. Inclusion of designs by Henry Holiday in 1868, led to a more classical influence in their work. During a long career, the firm produced stained glass for numerous churches including Westminister Abbey and Peterborough Cathedral.
When the firm ceased trading in 1953 their records were destroyed.
There are several windows in our church designed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in memory of various members of the Dunleath family. One of the most notable is the 1914-1918 war memorial window.
In 1877 Joshua Clarke arrived in Dublin as a penniless 18 year old. He was hard working, ambitious and shrewd and soon founded his company, Joshua Clarke and Sons. His sons Walter and Harry were born in 1887 and 1889 respectively, both on St Patrick’s day.
Joshua had little formal education, but he could see that the production of stained glass would be an ideal addition to his church decoration firm, so in 1892 he opened a glass studio in rooms in the family home. There were several stained-glass illustrators employed at this time by Joshua and one of these was the designer of our windows. His son Harry was fascinated and by age 14 was showing great promise. He was apprenticed in his father’s firm in 1905, and studied art and stained glass at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art at night. Harry won many awards and using Joshua’s studio facilities, soon began to establish a reputation for highly distinctive work.
When Joshua died in 1921, Harry took over the running of J. Clarke and Sons, as well as doing his own work. Walter and Harry remained very close but a deterioration in Harry’s health led to the separation of the stained glass studio from the church decoration firm. In early 1930 Harry Clarke Stained Glass Ltd was legally established. However both brothers died within six months of each other in 1930 and 1931. The business was carried on by their children until its closure in 1973. Their business records are archived in Trinity College, Dublin (3) and we are grateful for unlimited online access to them.
Harry began his career as an apprentice in 1905 so could not have been illustrator of our windows, but the craft he learnt in his father’s firm was the foundation of his brilliant career and can be seen in the beauty of our windows.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and from private donations that made our roof renovation project possible.
Researched and compiled by Dr Marilyn Armstrong on behalf of the Select Vestry, Ballywalter Parish. April 2019
Holy Trinity Church
Ballywalter
THE EARLY CHURCH IN CO. DOWN
The early church had strong links to St Patrick. His first church was at Saul and he is buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral. In AD 556 St Comgall founded Bangor Abbey and Movilla Abbey was founded St Finnian in AD 540
In 1193 the Benedictine priory at Black Abbey was founded by Sir John de Courcy and his wife lady Affrica founded the Cistercian monastery at Greyabbey.
THE FIRST CHURCHES IN BALLYWALTER
In Ballywalter the first church at Whitechurch was built along with the old churches in Ballyhalbert and at Innishargie. Some parts date from the 13th century and earlier, and there is some 15th century reconstruction. (the ruins can still be seen in Whitechurch cemetery on the Dunover Road). At one time they all formed part of the possessions of the Benedictine monastery at Blackabbey
THE REFORMATION
At the reformation (1536) Henry VIII was declared Head of the Irish Church and pastoral duties of the existing clergy were transferred in law to the newly established Church of Ireland.
This encompassed 33 dioceses, in turn divided into rural deaneries , subdivided into more than 2000 parishes.
By this time the old church at Innishargie was derelict, and the parish churches at Ballyhalbert and Whitechurch were in a bad state of repair – by 1657 Ballywalter church had only a thatched roof.
Early in the reign of Queen Anne, a new church was built to serve all three parishes . An Act of Parliament was passed, which stated “the three parishes of Ballywalter, Ballyhalbert and Innishargie in the Diocese of Down shall be forever united, after the death of either of the present incumbents ……and that a church shall be built in one of the townlands of Innishargie, in such a place as shall be appointed by the Archbishop of the Diocese, with the consent of the owner of the land.”
Accordingly, in 1704, a new church was erected on a central site, about one mile from the old church of Innishargie. The new united parish, was known as St.Andrew’s. This name kept alive the old link with Black Abbey, which had been dedicated to St.Andrew.
For 140 years St.Andrew’s Innishargie was the centre of Church life in the area, however during the early nineteenth century, population increases led to the realisation that each parish needed a church of its own.
DISSOLUTION and REVIVAL
On 29th June 1844 an Act of Parliament dissolved the Union of Innishargie, Ballyhalbert and Ballywalter. The parishes of Ballyhalbert and Ballywalter were revived and a new parish of Kircubbin was created. The parish of Innishargie disappeared but St Andrew’s church at Balligan still stands within Ballywalter Parish, and forms an important part of the spiritual life of the parish with twice monthly services of Choral Evensong
HOLY TRINITY BALLYWALTER 1849
On 26th May 1848, Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye granted ‘ a parcel of ground, part of the lands of Whitechurch, as a site for a new church and churchyard’
On 31st July 1848 The Lord Lieutenant and privy council of Ireland granted permission for the site of the church to move from Whitechurch which was ‘in ruins and inconveniently situated’ to the new site granted by Lord Dufferin.
Thus the present church site was acquired, and the architect William Burn was invited to design the building.
WILLIAM BURN (1789-1870)
William Burn was born in Edinburgh, son of the architect Robert Burn. He trained with Sir Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum. By 1849 he was at the height of his productivity and was one of the foremost architects of his time. He designed many important buildings and remodelled country houses. He had been invited by Lord Dufferin, the patron of the parish at that time, to submit plans for the renovation of Clandeboye House. He was unsuccessful in that but as a consolation, he was invited to design the new church for Ballywalter Parish, and Helen’s Tower on the Clandeboye estate. Holy Trinity church is one of the very few churches he designed in Ireland. It cost £1,152..10.0 to build and the plans can be seen on history poster 1 in the church. The money was raised by public donation and the list of donors is also on the poster within the Sentence of Consecration.
CONSECRATION 1849
Archbishop Beresford (1773-1862) was petitioned by the first vicar, Revd Hugh Wilson to consecrate the new church of Holy Trinity. On 24th September 1849 the Sentence of Consecration was enacted. An excerpt from that document states that “ and whereas a church has lately been erected thereon by means of subscription from……..being in length within the wall from East to West sixy-four feet and from North to South 20 feet, and the same is finished with a font, pulpit and reading desk and is now ready for the celebration of divine service therein – and has a yard for burial of the dead in circumference eight hundred and eight-three feet”
The foundation stone had been laid in 1847, and the church, dedicated in 1849, consisted of the porch, vestry, main Nave, Chancel and Sanctuary. It had a seating accommodation of 145.
THOMAS DREW (1838-1910)
By 1883 the congregation had grown so much that fights were breaking out on Sunday mornings as there were not enough seats for everyone! So the select vestry decided to enlarge the church. Thomas Drew was engaged to design the renovations. He had trained under Sir Charles Lanyon and became Diocesan architect in 1865. In Belfast his most significant work was St Anne’s cathedral completed in 1899. [NB: The William Burn original plan and the Thomas Drew additions can be seen on History poster 2]
CHURCH EXTENSION 1891
The 1st stone for the extension was struck on 9th December 1889. A side isle, and organ transept was added. The roof of the 1849 nave and chancel was raised by 2 feet and a third window added in the chancel behind the communion table. Throughout 1890 the church was closed for the renovations and the services were conducted in the schoolhouse,( now the Parochial hall). On 23rd January 1891 the consecration of the addition, and the reopening of the church was carried out by William Reeves (1815-1892), Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore. The church building today still has many of the original features of the 1849 church and all of the 1891 additions.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
The Organ
On 12th January 1890 the vicar preached a sermon for the organ fund. The collection on 2nd Sunday of every month would be given to the fund. The organ was built by Peter Conagher in 1891 and the opening recital was given by the organist Hugh Magill at the Easter Vestry meeting. It was tonally redesigned in 1964 to the specification of the late Lord Henry Dunleath making it a unique instrument of its time with the tonal range of a larger instrument.
The Font
This was erected in 1899 in commemoration of 50 years since the church was built.
The Stained Glass Windows
The church has a number of very fine stained glass windows principally erected by
Heaton Butler and Bayne of London and J.A.Clarke, & Sons ,Dublin ( for more information see church tour leaflet)
Notable among these is the Great War memorial window, commissioned by the Select vestry in 1919, in memory of Capt AES Mulholland and all who died in that war.
Battle field cross
Immediately beneath the Memorial window is a battlefield cross. It originally marked the grave of Capt Mulholland who was killed at Ypres on 1st November 1914. In the 1920’s when the War Graves Commission decided that all war graves should be marked by the gravestones seen today, the cross was brought back from France by his brothers and erected in the church.
Snapshots in Time
The stained glass windows and church furnishings have been given over the years in memory of family members of the congregation. Many of the earlier ones have commemorative plaques, while later gifts are recorded on the scroll contained within the Eccles Table. The original 1949 Lectern bible and prayer book can also be seen here.
The Vestry
This small robing room has many photos of former vicars including that of the first vicar, Revd Hugh Wilson
THE GRAVEYARD
Because of the proximity of Whitechurch cemetery, in 1933 it was decided not to develop the graveyard at Holy Trinity any further and today it is a memorial garden which allows limited burial of ashes in unmarked plots in biodegradable containers. There are 8 unmarked graves from pre 1933 including the grave of the first vicar Revd Hugh Wilson. All of the graves and the memorial garden are encircled by a chain at the North Side of the church.
The compiler is indebted to
The Vicar and Select Vestry of Ballywalter Parish for extensive access to the Vestry records for Ballywalter and Balligan Church. M.A.Ar
The Select vestry are delighted to announce that they have been successful in their stage 2 bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund and have been awarded £80,000 towards the cost of the roof repairs. Work started on 11th February and is well underway. Completion is expected by the end of May
DATA PRIVACY NOTICE
The Parish of Ballywalter
1.Your personal data – what is it?
Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”).
2. Who are we?
The Parish of Ballywalter is the data controller (contact details below). This means it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.
3. How do we process your personal data?
The Parish of Ballywalter complies with its obligations under the “GDPR” by keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.
We use your personal data for the following purposes: –
4. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?
5. Sharing your personal data Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with other members of the church in order to carry out a service to other church members or for purposes connected with the church. We will only share your data with third parties outside of the parish with your consent.
6. How long do we keep your personal data? We keep data in accordance with the guidance set out within Irish Data Protection Legislation, details of which can be found here and in the guide “Keep or Bin: Care of Your Parish Records” which is available from the Church of England website here.
Specifically, we retain electoral roll data while it is still current; gift aid declarations and associated paperwork for up to 6 years after the calendar year to which they relate; and parish registers (baptisms, marriages, funerals) permanently.
7. Your rights and your personal data
Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: –
[Only applies where the processing is based on consent or is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject and in either case the data controller processes the data by automated means]
[Only applies where processing is based on legitimate interests (or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority); direct marketing and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics]
8. Further processing
If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice. The new notice will explain the new use of your personal data prior to commencing the processing. It will set out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.
9. Contact Details
To exercise all relevant rights, queries of complaints please in the first instance contact the at Rev Sue Bell, 15, Westland Drive, Ballywalter, BT22 2TH. email, vicarfoballywalter@gmail.com
You can contact the Information Commissioners Office (UK) on 0303 123 1113; via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or by writing to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
You can contact the Data Protection Commissioner (Ireland) on +353 (0761) 104 800; via email info@dataprotection.ie or by writing to: The Data Protection Commissioner, Canal House, Station Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois, R32 AP23
The Select Vestry of Ballywalter Parish is delighted to acknowledge and thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for the award of a First Round Pass for development of a second round application for funding towards roof repairs at Holy Trinity Church. The award included a development grant of £5,000.