St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street
Encyclopedia
St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street
, in Dublin, Ireland
, was built in the early 18th century following the establishment of the Anglican parish
in 1707. In the early 21st century the church presents itself as ecumenical within the tradition of the Church of Ireland
.
commenced in 1720, to a design by Issac Wills. The current façade dates to the 19th century. In 1907, St. Ann's was listed with five other churches as Dublin's only church buildings surviving from the 18th century.
was never completed above the first floor. In 1868, a competition was held for a new façade, with the architectural firm of Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon losing the commission to the Deanes, Thomas Newenham Deane
and his father
. The younger Deane, who had been involved with the creation of significant buildings at Oxford University, designed a neo-Romanesque
front. Described by one travel guide as "amazingly ornate," the façade as it exists in the 21st century lacks some elements of Deane's original conception, most significantly the tallest tower; see the design online as Deane submitted it. From an architectural perspective, this omission has been criticized as disrupting the building's flow from the rectory
to the spire
.
interior was designed by Isaac Wills, influenced by churches built by Christopher Wren
but with variations characteristic of Irish architecture
. The church underwent a major renovation in 2009.
St. Ann's is noted for its wood carving
. The carved reredos
, placed within a shallow rounded apse
, shares an unusual decorative feature with the reredos of the former St. Mary's in Dublin
: Corinthian
pilaster
capitals
with twin acanthus
scrolls
. The acanthus frieze
is carved with winged angels
and bishop's mitre
; the segmental pediment, with festoon
s of flowers. The craftsman's name is unrecorded.
feature of St. Ann's is the Bread Shelf. Since 1723, as a result of a bequest
by Lord Newton of Newtown Butler, the church has made daily bread
available to anyone who chooses to receive it. The bread is placed near the altar
on a shelf between acanthus-carved volute
s. A photograph of the Bread Shelf may be viewed online.
of the An Túr Gloine
(Tower of Glass) studio for stained-glass
artists. One on the north aisle was created by Geddes with Ethel Rhind. St. Ann's is said to contain "more stained glass than any other church in Dublin."
Oscar Wilde
was baptized
within the current parish, at the former St. Mark's Church; St. Ann's now possesses the relevant records after the two parishes were merged. Dracula
author Bram Stoker
was married at St. Ann's (1878), as was Irish patriot Wolfe Tone (1785). Anthony St. Leger, founder of the St Leger Stakes
horse race, was buried in the churchyard
of St. Ann's. The philanthropist
Thomas Barnardo
as a boy attended St. Ann's Sunday school
.
The church contains memorials to the Irish theologian Alexander Knox; English poet Felicia Hemans
, who lived on Dawson Street from 1831; Richard Whately
, the "eccentric" Anglican Archbishop of Dublin appointed 1831; and art collector and benefactor Hugh Lane
, who created major collections of modern art
in Dublin. Sir Thomas Vesey is also buried here. The reredos commemorates thirty-two men killed in World War I
, and five in World War II
, who were from the parish.
for the purpose of purchasing an organ
for the church. The case of the modern organ, located in the west gallery
of the church, is presumed to remain from the original 18th-century instrument. William Telford built the organ in 1834. It has been renovated numerous times. In 1911, the water-powered blower was replaced with an electrical blower, and in 1925 the organ underwent a tubular pneumatic
conversion with a new console
.
Dawson Street
Dawson Street is one of the main streets of central Dublin, running parallel to Grafton Street, to which it is connected by Duke Street and South Anne Street...
, in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, was built in the early 18th century following the establishment of the Anglican parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in 1707. In the early 21st century the church presents itself as ecumenical within the tradition of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
.
Building history
The building of the physical church in baroque styleBaroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
commenced in 1720, to a design by Issac Wills. The current façade dates to the 19th century. In 1907, St. Ann's was listed with five other churches as Dublin's only church buildings surviving from the 18th century.
Exterior and façade
St. Ann's original façadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
was never completed above the first floor. In 1868, a competition was held for a new façade, with the architectural firm of Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon losing the commission to the Deanes, Thomas Newenham Deane
Thomas Newenham Deane
Sir Thomas Newenham Deane was an Irish architect, the son of Sir Thomas Deane, and father of Sir Thomas Manly Deane, who were also architects....
and his father
Thomas Deane
Sir Thomas Deane was an Irish architect. He was the father of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, and grandfather of Sir Thomas Manly Deane, who were also architects.-Life:...
. The younger Deane, who had been involved with the creation of significant buildings at Oxford University, designed a neo-Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
front. Described by one travel guide as "amazingly ornate," the façade as it exists in the 21st century lacks some elements of Deane's original conception, most significantly the tallest tower; see the design online as Deane submitted it. From an architectural perspective, this omission has been criticized as disrupting the building's flow from the rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
to the spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
.
Interior
The GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
interior was designed by Isaac Wills, influenced by churches built by Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
but with variations characteristic of Irish architecture
Architecture of Ireland
The architecture of Ireland is one of the most visible features in the Irish countryside – with remains from all eras since the Stone Age abounding. Ireland is famous for its ruined and intact Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, small whitewashed thatched cottages and Georgian urban buildings...
. The church underwent a major renovation in 2009.
St. Ann's is noted for its wood carving
Wood as a medium
As a contemporary artistic medium, wood is used in traditional and modern styles, and is an excellent medium for new art. Wood is used in forms of sculpture, craft, and decoration including chip carving, wood burning, and marquetry. Wood offers a fascination, beauty, and complexity in the grain,...
. The carved reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
, placed within a shallow rounded apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, shares an unusual decorative feature with the reredos of the former St. Mary's in Dublin
St. Mary's Church, Dublin
St. Mary's Church, Dublin is a former Church of Ireland building in Mary Street, Dublin.-The Church:Dating from the 17th century, the building was designed by Sir William Robinson, and is notable as the first Dublin church to be built with galleries....
: Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
capitals
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
with twin acanthus
Acanthus (ornament)
The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.-Architecture:In architecture, an ornament is carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to...
scrolls
Scrollwork
Scrollwork is an element of ornamentation and graphic design using a spiral. The name comes from by the supposed resemblance to the edge-on view of a rolled parchment scroll. "Scrollwork" is today mostly used in popular language for two-dimensional decorative flourishes and arabesques of all...
. The acanthus frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
is carved with winged angels
Angels in art
Angels have appeared in works of art for millennia.Angel-shaped beings appear in ancient Mesopotamian and Greek art and were probably the inspiration for the popular Christian image of angels....
and bishop's mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
; the segmental pediment, with festoon
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
s of flowers. The craftsman's name is unrecorded.
The Bread Shelf
A distinctive woodworking and charitableCharity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
feature of St. Ann's is the Bread Shelf. Since 1723, as a result of a bequest
Bequest
A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
by Lord Newton of Newtown Butler, the church has made daily bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
available to anyone who chooses to receive it. The bread is placed near the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
on a shelf between acanthus-carved volute
Volute
A volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals...
s. A photograph of the Bread Shelf may be viewed online.
Stained glass windows
Victorian-era stained glass replaced the original 18th-century clear windows. Some windows commemorate people associated with the church. Three windows in the south aisle are notable for their artistic merit; these were designed by Wilhelmina GeddesWilhelmina Geddes
Wilhelmina Geddes was an Irish stained glass artist. She had a workshop at the An Túr Gloine and was a member of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Important achievements included windows at St. Bartholomew’s in Ottawa, Canada....
of the An Túr Gloine
An Túr Gloine
An Túr Gloine was a cooperative studio for stained glass conceived in late 1901 and established January 1903 at 24 Pembroke Street, Dublin, Ireland, on the site of two former tennis courts. It was active throughout the first half of the 20th century...
(Tower of Glass) studio for stained-glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
artists. One on the north aisle was created by Geddes with Ethel Rhind. St. Ann's is said to contain "more stained glass than any other church in Dublin."
Associated people
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
was baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
within the current parish, at the former St. Mark's Church; St. Ann's now possesses the relevant records after the two parishes were merged. Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
author Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
was married at St. Ann's (1878), as was Irish patriot Wolfe Tone (1785). Anthony St. Leger, founder of the St Leger Stakes
St. Leger Stakes
The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
horse race, was buried in the churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
of St. Ann's. The philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Thomas Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo was a philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor children, born in Dublin. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1870 to the date of Barnardo’s death, nearly 100,000 children had been rescued, trained and given a better life.- Early life :Barnardo...
as a boy attended St. Ann's Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
.
The church contains memorials to the Irish theologian Alexander Knox; English poet Felicia Hemans
Felicia Hemans
-Ancestry:Felicia Heman's paternal grandfather was George Browne of Passage, co. Cork, Ireland; her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Haydock Wagner of Lancashire and Benedict Paul Wagner , wine importer at 9 Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool. Family legend gave the Wagners a Venetian origin;...
, who lived on Dawson Street from 1831; Richard Whately
Richard Whately
Richard Whately was an English rhetorician, logician, economist, and theologian who also served as the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin.-Life and times:...
, the "eccentric" Anglican Archbishop of Dublin appointed 1831; and art collector and benefactor Hugh Lane
Hugh Lane
Sir Hugh Percy Lane is best known for establishing Dublin's Municipal Gallery of Modern Art and for his remarkable contribution to the visual arts in Ireland...
, who created major collections of modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
in Dublin. Sir Thomas Vesey is also buried here. The reredos commemorates thirty-two men killed in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and five in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, who were from the parish.
The organ
Written sources from 1742 record a subscription driveFundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
for the purpose of purchasing an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
for the church. The case of the modern organ, located in the west gallery
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
of the church, is presumed to remain from the original 18th-century instrument. William Telford built the organ in 1834. It has been renovated numerous times. In 1911, the water-powered blower was replaced with an electrical blower, and in 1925 the organ underwent a tubular pneumatic
Tubular-pneumatic action
"Tubular-pneumatic action" refers to an apparatus used in manypipe organs built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term "tubular" refers to the extensive use of lead tubing to connect the organ's console to the valves that control the delivery of "wind" to the organ's pipes...
conversion with a new console
Organ console
thumb|right|250px|The console of the [[Wanamaker Organ]] in the Macy's department store in [[Philadelphia]], featuring six manuals and colour-coded stop tabs....
.
List of organists at St Ann’s
- George WIlliam Torrance (1851-1854)
- John Mc Calley
- William Houghton
- Dr. James Culwick (1871 - 1881)
- Arthur Patton (1881- 1892)
- H. Gladney Gick (1892 - 1918)
- Mr. Sydney Lovett F.R.C.O. (1918 - 1919)
- Lennox Braid (1920 - 1934)
- William J. Watson M.A., Mus.B., L.R.A.M., F.R.C.O., F.T.C.L. (1935 - 1987)
- Hilary Duncan
- Stanley Monkhouse
- Cecilia Madden
- Aiden Scanlon
- Thomas Charles Marshall (2009 – )