The original church on this site was opened in 1789 to accommodate the growing population of the area. The original church was a simple affair, a plain rectangular building surrounded by open fields sloping down to the sea. By the 1800s although Monkstown was still a rural seaside parish its population of wealthy people was growing. It was decided to remodel and extend the church in the 1820s. The extension was designed by architect John Semple.
The style is described as ‘castellated Gothic with Moorish influences’ and has similarities to some of Gaudi’s buildings in Barcelona (except this was built 50 years earlier!) Initially its styling was described as ‘incorrect’ by the conservative church worshipers. A writer in The Dublin Penny Journal (12 July 1834) declared that he had never seen ‘a greater perversion of judgment and taste’ and that ‘there (was) not a spot in the church where the eye (could) rest without pain’. A parishioner wrote in Saunders’s Newsletter (30 September 1857) that ‘To anyone even slightly acquainted with the principles of church architecture, (Monkstown Church) cannot but appear simply hideous’, while the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette (20 March 1880) thought that the church was not ‘suitable for a Christian place of worship’However over time it has become to be described as ‘bold, modern and original’ and is regarded as John Semple’s masterpiece.
The interior of the church is equally as impressive as the exterior especially the enormous vaults for holding up the ceiling and 3 beautiful balconies.
Semple’s other works include Blackchurch (at the top of O’Connell St), The Holy Trinity (in Rathmines), Whitechurch (back of Marlay Park), Kilternan Church of Ireland and even the inside of The Round Room in the Mansion House. His father (also called John) was also an architect who worked on Gandon’s Custom House.
The Church Micro IE series is open to everyone; if you have a church you would like to place a cache at then please contact THE_Chris throughGeocaching.com. This is to keep track of the numbers of the churches and give you the general format for the cache page. In the UK there are thousands in the series so we have some catching up to do! Also, if you currently have a published cache at a church that you would like to include in the series, get in contact and we can add it.
The cache is a magnetic nano. Stealth required. On street paid parking available