Holywood Graveyard Tour and Church History
Church History:
This photograph of the church shows it to have a very basic cruciform shape. Compared with the cruciform designs of churches like Tynron Kirk, Holywood is much less interesting.
In plan it is a rather plain assembly of box-like structures where the shaft of the cross comprises two different sized box shapes and the transom beam a single box shape. The head of the cross is formed by the
tower. This square-topped bell tower is a little unusual, while it is integral to the main structure, access to it appears to be external.
In contrast to the dull outside, the inside of the church is very pleasant and bright with light coloured plain wooden paneling. Four tall stained glass windows on the facing wall flanking the pulpit and two in the wings to the rear, admit good light.
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| The access road encircles the church. |
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The date, 1779, is cut into the stone rib
running across the front face of the tower. |
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The church we see today dates from 1779. It is believed to stand within the site of what was a mediaeval monastery.
The Praemonstratensian Abbey of Holywood is known from documentary evidence to have been founded some time in the middle years of the 12th century.
At a first inspection of this site one could easily conclude that there is no evidence of this earlier building in either the structure of
the church or the stones of the graveyard. Archaeological surveys of the late 19th and early 20th century however, state clearly that stones from the old abbey were built into the church walls and the surrounding wall of the graveyard. A closer inspection shows that there are stones with different styles of tooling, some have a more regular shape
and some look older than others. The writer claims no archaeological expertise so failed to distinguish which were which and as a result offers no photographic evidence other than the section of the tower carrying the date. |
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That such a building existed is beyond doubt from both the historical records and the archaeological record, these are considered in greater detail elsewhere in this document.
Physical evidence of any earlier ecclesiastical building, the stuff you can see and touch like a carved symbol or figure, just isn't there. |
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