ALL SAINTS, GRANGEGORMAN
SEE Grangegorman.
ST ANDREW, SUFFOLK STREET
THE parish was founded probably in the XIth century. The original church occupied the site of the present Munster and Leinster Bank in Dame Street, lying therefore just without the walls. At the Reformation the parish was united to St Werburgh's, and the church used as a mint and as a vice-regal stable. Laud attempted to rescue it, but it was not till 1665 that the parish was re-created by Act of Parliament. The church was built 1670-74: it was 'round' (elliptical) in form, and the architect was William Dodson. A drawing which still exists, was made by Francis Place. It stood almost on the site of the present church, near the Danish Thingmote or assembly mound, which was not levelled till 1685. In 1690 it was for a time used as a prison. Dodson was a dishonest contractor, and by 1750 the building was already decaying. Since early in the XVIIIth century it had enjoyed a special position as the parish church of Parliament. Much public money was therefore spent on the rebuilding which began in 1793 and ended with the re-opening in 1807. During this time the congregation was accommodated in the Friends' Meeting-House. The church was rebuilt on the old walls, from sill-level upwards, by John Hartwell and (after 1800) by Francis Johnston, who designed the front to Church Lane, and also the gothic tower which (as usual in Dublin) was never finished. (Johnston's elevation has recently been published by J. Betjeman in The Pavilion, 1946.) The ellipse measured 80 ft. x 60 ft., and was 43 ft. in height. Over the porch stood the statue of St Andrew, the only statue on any Protestant church in Dublin. It was the work of Edward Smyth and still stands beside the present W door. It has suffered much from the weather and from having been used for target-practice by a noted duellist. Internally the church was decorated in the Egyptian style. It was regarded as too well-lit, and oiled-silk blinds adorned with transparencies on scriptural subjects were hung over the windows. At the Union the church inherited the great carved wooden candelabra from the House of Commons. This was removed to the Examination Hall of Trinity College in 1852 -- fortunately, because on January 8th, 1860, the church was destroyed by an accidental fire. Though the tower escaped destruction, it was immediately pulled down, and the present church, designed by Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon of Belfast, was built a few yards to the South of the old site, and opened in 1866. It has no features in common with the historic building which it succeeded, but possesses one of the finest broach spires in Ireland. The new design was the result of a competition, in which Lanyon and Lynn won the first two places. Raffles Brown the third, Deane and Woodward the fourth, and Thomas Turner the fifth. John Semple, who also entered, was unplaced and was even reproached with having made no stylistic progress!
In spite of its chequered history, St Andrew's possesses a remarkably complete series of records from the Restoration onwards. Esther Vanhomrigh (Swift's Vanessa) is buried here, but the site of her grave is unmarked.
ST ANN, DAWSON STREET.
THE parish was formed in 1707 from parts of St Bride, St Kevin and St Peter. But the building was not begun till 1720, on ground presented by Joshua Dawson. In Brooking's map, 1728, it is represented as having an impressive front; which, however, never proceeded beyond the first storey and a half, the bare gable rising above. The architect was Isaac Wills. In 1868 the present 'romanesque' front by Deane and Woodward took the place of the old, but the rebuilding fortunately went no further. Until the rebuilding, the curate of the church lived in rooms over the porch of the old front.
Internally the church is remarkable for its shallow rounded apse, the fine single-span vault and rich plaster cornice, and the columns of unfluted ionic which carry the galleries. There is a very fine carved wooden reredos, and flanking the three windows of the apse are six magnificent large gilt plaster drops, each some twelve feet long. The box-pews are intact. On the N side of the chancel is an old triple bench, and the present communion-rail, though absent from our photograph, seems to be XVIIIth century. On either side of the chancel are the shelves for the bequest of the Rt. Hon. Theophilus Lord Newtown of Newtown Butler, who left, in 1723, £13 per annum to be distributed in bread to the poor at 5/- each week. This is still done. The organ in the W gallery has a handsome case and is musically very effective.
The pulpit is modern, and so is the arrangement of the E end of the S aisle as a small chapel. The church is made intolerably dark by a profusion of very ugly XIXth century stained glass: this, and the re-fronting, are the penalties it has paid for continuing to be fashionable and comparatively rich.
In 1821 there was a canopied pew in the S gallery which belonged to the ducal house of Leinster, and another similar pew in the N gallery belonging to the family of Shaw, who then represented Dublin in parliament. In the S gallery is a fine wall-monument to the Hon. Tankerville Chamberlain (1802) and Lord Downes (1826) with arms and portrait busts, and high up on the E wall of the same, almost invisible, one by Smyth to Miss Elizabeth Phibbs. The poet Felicia Hemans is buried in the vaults, and commemorated by a window in the S aisle. In the N gallery is a good modern tablet to Sir Hugh Lane, founder of the Municipal Gallery.
The churchyard lies to E of the Church. St Ann's is open at all reasonable times during the day.
ST AUDOEN, CORNMARKET.
THIS, the only mediaeval parish church remaining in Dublin, was founded at the end of the XIIth century by the men of Bristol, to whom the city was granted by Henry II. The dedication is to St Audoen or Ouen (ob. 683), Bishop of Rouen, whose identity may have been confused with that of St Howyn, Ewan or Owen, a Welsh saint venerated in the West of England. The living at one time belonged to the Augustinian Canonesses of Grace Dieu, in N. Co. Dublin.
The church was once a group of guild chapels, being in the neighbourhood of many of the guild halls. The oldest portion, the nave, dates from 1190 to 1250. It is the only portion now roofed, and forms the present parish church. The chancel, now cut off from the nave, is probably later than 1300, and remained in use till 1773. Both nave and chancel had a S. aisle. The nave aisle, known as the Chapel of St Anne, belongs in its existing form to the first half of the XVth century, but is almost certainly the successor of an earlier and narrower aisle. In 1820-21 the gallery which occupied the arches between nave and aisle was taken down, the arches built up, and the aisle unroofed. The choir aisle, or Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was built by Roland Fitzeustace, Baron Portlester, in 1455, and is commonly called the Portlester Chapel.
The church is entered by the W. door, under the tower. The latter stands at the W. end of the S. aisle, and in its present form dates largely from a restoration of the church by Henry Aaron Baker, in 1826. The lower part of the tower, up to the bellringers' chamber, belongs either to the mediaeval fabric or to an earlier restoration in 1670, though the windows are all modern. There is a peal of 6 bells, one dated 1423, but for the last 30 years only the tenor has been rung. Im the ground floor of the tower is the Portlester tomb (1455), bearing the recumbent effigies of Baron Portlester, clad in armour, and of his wife, daughter of Janico Dartis, Richard II.'s Gascon squire and grandfather of the 1st Lord Gormanston. Baron Portlester was Lord Chancellor and Treasurer of Ireland and died in 1496. He was not buried in St Audoen's, but at Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. The tower also contains an earlier effigy of an ecclesiastic and a floriated cross-slab, dated 1495. Outside the W. door of the nave is an early granite slab with a Celtic Cross in relief on either side, closely resembling those now in St Patrick's Cathedral. It is known as the Wishing Stone, and formerly stood in Owen's Lane, near the door of the church. For some years after 1826 it was buried in Cook Street, but was later unearthed and placed in the little park to the W. of the church, which replaces the graveyard. From there it was moved for greater safety to its present position, in which one side is unfortunately invisible. It long ante-dates any part of the church, and presumably belonged to a pre-Norman religious site somewhere in the vicinity.
The nave is entered through a deeply moulded doorway of c. 1190. The present N. windows date from the 1826 restoration. The blocked arcade is still visible in the S. wall. Over its piers are corbels, intended to support the original timber roof, now replaced by a plaster ceiling. In the W. wall is a much-defaced monument to Edward Parry, Bishop of Killaloe, who died of plague in 1650. In the S.W. corner of the church is a fine late Romanesque font, with scalloped ornament, bearing the spurious but colourable date, 1194, in Arabic numerals. The floor of the church is to some extent paved with mediaeval grave-slabs of the floriated cross type. Two elaborate Jacobean wall-tombs on the N. wall are said to be those of the Segrave or Cosgrave family, but bear no visible inscription. Both show figures of a man and wife, attended by their children, in pillared niches, surmounted by broken pediments. Below is a skull and crossbones, and the central column is topped in both cases by a curious basket of fruit and flowers. These interesting monuments are heavily whitewashed, so that any possible traces of paint or inscription are concealed. Two small bronze tablets, dated 1719 and 1730, are set in the eastermost pier of the blocked S arcade, in order to mark the site of burial places. The E window contains 3 small roundels of old glass (? XVIIth Cent.?) which resemble coats of arms, but are not easy to distinguish.
The vestry stands in the eastern end of the ruined nave-aisle, but is approached from the present church. It contains drawings by Baker, dated 1824, of the tower before and after his restoration. There is also a plan of the church, showing the passage which runs under the church from High Street to St Audoen's Arch, and 4 collection-ladles, dated 1796. The church plate includes a chalice of 1624, but is not normally visible without the Rector's permission.
The ruined parts of the church are approached by a separate door from the porch. The S aisle contains the tomb of Alderman John Malone (1592), with remains of figures. High up in the S wall is a blocked hagioscope, and there are various other openings which may have communicated with an adjoining priest's residence.
Passing the vestry and a stair leading up to High Street, the choir aisle or Portlester Chapel is entered. This and the choir are now vested in the Board of Works. The matrix of a brass, with the figure of a monk still discernible, is on the floor of the chapel. On the S wall are pointed out the remains of a fresco, now entirely defaced by weather. (See Illustration: The Italian Trinity.) The windows in the S wall suggest a date in the XVIth century, by their flattened heads.
The choir contains a modern monument to William Molyneux, (ob. 1698) author of The Case of Ireland Stated. On the sill of one of the N windows are preserved some mediaeval tiles, with fleur de lys and other patterns. The two N windows contain XVth century "switch-line" tracery of a simple pattern. The arcade between choir and S aisle also suggests the XVth century. The choir is not in line with the nave, but bends northwards, a fact which the present division of the church obscures. Acoustic vases shaped like modern milk-bottles, with slates in front, were found in holes in the N choir wall in about 1938. They are now in the National Museum.
The sexton will generally be found in or near the church from 11 to 1 and from 2 to 5, except on Wednesday afternoons.
ST BRIDE, BRIDE STREET.
THIS was one of Dublin's most ancient parishes, as its dedication to an Irish saint (St Brigid) testifies. It was important in mediaeval times, and later included the parishes of St Michael-le-Pole and old St Stephen's (q.v.) The church was rebuilt in 1684, but it does not seem to have had any features of architectural interest. It was united to St Werburgh's in 1886, and demolished in 1898. Its demolition was part of the extensive Iveagh scheme for re-planning the Bull Alley district. The church stood on the corner of Bride Street and Bride's Alley, on the south side of the latter, which has now been re-named Bride Road. It measured some 80 ft. x 40 ft. internally, was galleried, and had the altar at the W end and a square tower in the middle of the S wall.
The organ is now in the National Museum, and the bell and some wall-monuments are in St Werburgh's Church.
ST CATHERINE, THOMAS STREET
THERE has been a church or chapel of St Catherine here since 1105. It belonged to the Abbey of St Thomas, and the first vicar, Sir Peter Lewis, was appointed in 1546. It seems perhaps to have been re-dedicated to St Thomas the Martyr, and as such to have survived till 1707, when the parish of St Catherine was created by Act of Parliament out of part of St James. The present church was built in 1769, and designed by John Smith, architect of St Thomas's (q.v.). The main facade to Thomas Street is a grand pedimented composition in Roman doric, of mountain granite, very boldly modelled. The general disposition recalls Wren's St Mildred Poultry. A very fine water-colour drawing of the exterior by James Malton, hangs in the National Gallery, Merrion Square. The massive tower was never completed beyond the first storey: this is too frequent a tale in Dublin. This case is particularly unfortunate, as the complete tower was intended to close the vista of North Queen Street on the other side of the river. The W door, under the tower, is mean in design and of poor materials: otherwise the church presents a noble exterior. Note the unusual break in the mouldings at springing of the tower windows.
There is an internal plaster vault extending from the N row of columns to that on the S. The last bay to E is used on each side as an internal quasi-transept. The superimposed order is repeated against the E wall -- not a very happy arrangement, as the lower columns taper downwards and attention is drawn to this feature in an awkward way. It also emphasises the break in scale between the sanctuary and the body of the church. The stilted sanctuary arch is somewhat ungainly. But in other respects the interior, if not quite worthy of the exterior, is none the less one of the finest in Dublin. The box-pews are intact; the continuous gallery is spacious and dignified; the fine old organ has a handsome carved wooden case and retains its original keys. The pulpit is a good piece of eighteenth-century work, and a modern reading-desk has evidently been designed to harmonise. In the centre of the S gallery are the arms of the Earl of Meath, to whom the patronage of the living was given at the Restoration. The Meath family vault is beneath the sanctuary. The east end has some good stucco work, and the mediocre E window is the only stained glass in evidence. The church is consequently light, though it was formerly the target for complaints that it was gloomy. On a large panel in the N gallery are the Ten Commandments, the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. The present sanctuary steps were renewed in 1898, and what appears to be the old ones may be seen lying in the churchyard. The vestry (to SE) is a pleasant old room with a coved ceiling. Here, and in the lobby adjoining, hangs an excellent series of measured drawings of the church by T. F. Williamson, 1923.
Among the monuments may be noticed that in S aisle to W. Mylne, brother of the architect Robert Mylne, and engineer of the Dublin Water Supply (1790). Against E wall high on N side is that of Whitelaw, vicar of the parish and historian of Dublin.
A fountain, as Malton's print shows, formerly stood in front of the church, as at St Mary's and others. Here, in 1803, the execution of Robert Emmet took place. The first Sunday School in Ireland was established in this parish in 1786. The Protestant Orphan Society was founded at a graveside in the churchyard, by a number of 'humble tradesmen' gathered to bury the father and mother of a numerous family in 1828. The grave of the orphans, with the monument, is against the E wall of the churchyard.
The bell was cast in 1671, and recast in 1896; and St Victor's Church, Donore Avenue, has one cast in 1611 and recast 1858 which came from St Catherine's.
The churchyard, lying to S, is large and pleasant, well shaded with trees. The sexton lives adjoining the church in 37 Thomas Court, and when at home will admit visitors though the church is normally locked.
ST GEORGE, HILL STREET ("Little St George's").
THERE was a mediaeval parish of St George, the church of which stood in George's Lane, near the junction of the present Exchequer Street and South Gt. George's Street. But the parish became extinct at an early date. The church in Hill Street was founded in 1714, by Archbishop King and Sir John Eccles, the local landlord, as a chapel-of-ease to St Mary's, in which parish it was till the new parish was created in 1793. It was about 65 feet long by 30 feet wide, and extended east of the tower which still remains. It must have been a plain building, as the tower is of the rough stone quasi-gothic type. It continued to be used as a church well into the XIXth century, but all save the tower was demolished in 1894. The graveyard was at a more recent date turned into a playground, but many tombstones remain upright round its edges. The bell and one monument are to be found in new St George's, Hardwicke Place (q.v.).
ST GEORGE, HARDWICKE PLACE.
TO meet the growing needs of the new parish formed in 1793, this magnificent church was begun in 1802. It is the centre of a noble composition of streets, and as such is unique in Dublin, though St Stephen's partakes to a lesser extent of this advantage. Its almost square plan reflects the congregational needs of the time. Francis Johnston, the architect, modelled the steeple on Gibbs' St Martins-in-the-Fields. Except that St George's omits the bottom storey, and adds another at the top, they correspond stage for stage, though there are, of course, minor differences of detail. But in outline the final effect resembles more the smoother silhouette of St Bride's, by Wren. Were it not for the neo-grec order of the portico, and the robust lions' heads which ornament the cornice, the exterior could be classed as thoroughly eighteenth-century. The keystones and the mouldings of the steeple have all the full-blooded character of the renaissance. The unabashed use of blind windows in the street elevation confirms this impression. Particular attention may be drawn to the handsome keystones over the west doors. The clock, as usual in Johnston's work, is a prominent feature. The total height of the spire is about 180 feet.
Two elliptical staircases on either side of the tower-lobby lead to the gallery. In the N of these are some monuments taken from the Bethesda Chapel when the latter was secularised in 1908. The most immediately striking features of the interior are that it is wider than it is long, that the gallery is not supported by columns, and that there are apparently no doors. The gallery is supported on timbers which are bedded into the outer wall, and bear at their mid-points upon an inner wall. The doors on the ground floor are concealed in the wainscoting which, enriched with fine carving, runs entirely round the church. At present the interior is much as it was at first, save for the organ (which is an addition of about 1830), the unsightly gasbrackets, and the re-arrangement of the east end. A photograph which hangs in the passage to S (between the inner and outer walls) shows the E end as it was before the alterations in about 1880. There was a wooden semi-domed recess beneath what is now the sanctuary arch, and the present pulpit (then somewhat higher) occupied the middle of this space, with the present Communion-rail extending round in front. There were also two more of the recesses, crowned with convex scallops, of which two still remain in the E wall. Those which remain were formerly doors into the vestry and school, which occupied the space of the present chancel.
The woodwork, decorations and fittings of the whole church bear the strong impress of the architect's personality, and of the school of decoration which he founded. It is subtly unlike anything else of the period, here or elsewhere. As well as the pulpit, there are the two desks on either side of the chancel steps, though the chair in the sanctuary and the table in the tower lobby seem to be later in character.
The doors leading into the gallery are set in boldly recessed niches. To N and S in the gallery are the breast-high fireplaces, now disused. On the E wall of the N gallery is a monument to the wife of Francis Johnston, but of the architect himself there is no memorial. The unusual spreading capitals of the organ-columns may be noted.
The ceiling, which spans the whole interior space without any support, became dangerous in 1836, due to the fact that timbers of the requisite length had been unobtainable during the Napoleonic wars. But by an ingenious system of trussing, the collapse was prevented.
The clock and eight bells of St George's were housed, during the architect's time, in a tower at the rear of his house. No. 64 Eccles Street, where he used to ring them for his own amusement. At his death in 1829 they came to the church. In the Ringers' Loft (reached from the S stairs) hangs a copy of the instructions concerning the ringing of peals on particular occasions, and round the walls are the inscriptions on the bells themselves. The old bell of Little St George's (Hill Street) is under the window.
It is said that the vaults under the church were at one time used as a bonded Revenue warehouse. The architect's drawings certainly show the vaults marked, each with its capacity in hogsheads. The parish burying-ground is at Drumcondra, but a few interments have taken place in the church vaults, notably that of the last Earl of Blessington, moved here from St Thomas's (q.v.) when the latter church was destroyed.
In the mornings, except on Thursdays, the sexton may usually be found in the parochial hall on the south side of Hardwicke Place.
ALL SAINTS, GRANGEGORMAN (PHIBSBOROUGH ROAD.)
THE parish of Grangegorman was formed from parts of those of St Michan, St Paul and St George, about the year 1828. The church was then built by the Board of First Fruits. The present nave comprises the old church, much altered. Two windows on the S side can be seen to be original. The chancel was added in 1856 (when the corner towers were rebuilt to the E). The N aisle was built in 1867, and the baptistery at the W end, in 1889.
Grangegorman was distinguished in the mid-nineteenth century as a local stronghold of Puseyism. The church, though of little interest within, has the air almost of a country church. The Parochial School is in the churchyard. One monument in the church commemorates a member of the Monck family, Earls of Rathdowne, who were the local landlords, and are also commemorated in Monck Place nearby.
The church is open daily.
ST JAMES, JAMES STREET
THE parish is of very great antiquity, though by 1707 we find it united with Kilmainham as part of St Catherine's. In that year it was separated, and a new church erected. This church was long, low and narrow, and survived till 1861, when the present church was built from the designs of J. Welland. It is an unpretentious but not very interesting building, cruciform, with a SW spire and a small W gallery. The arcading between nave and S aisle is not without merit. In the tower lobby is an interesting mural tablet of 1691-1 693 and against the N wall inside, two good examples of the XVIIIth century. The church plate is for some reason now in St Catherine's. The parish records (unprinted) go back to 1736.
Curious ceremonies with cut paper shapes were formerly observed in the graveyard during St James's Fair. Toby Butler, who framed the Articles of Limerick, is buried here beneath an ivy-grown monument. The church is almost entirely surrounded by Guinness's Brewery, and owing to the absence of a sexton, it is very rarely open.
ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, FISHAMBLE STREET.
THIS parish dates from the XIIth century, and was originally founded, it seems, by a native Irishman. It stood a very few yards NE of the old Long Choir of Christchurch, now destroyed. It was rebuilt by Arland Ussher early in the XVIth century, again in 1680-1682, and again in 1766-1769. A spire, added in 1639, was not incorporated in the last rebuilding. The architect in 1769 was George Ensor. In 1877 the parish was united to St Werburgh's (q.v.), and the church, closed in the following year, was demolished in 1884.
It was about 70 ft. x 33 ft. internally, with the altar to W and a portico of two columns in antis to E. The order is variously given as doric and Corinthian: unfortunately the print of 1786 which we give throws no light on this question.
A breviary belonging to the mediaeval church is in the Library of TCD. Three mural tablets, the pulpit and some of the plate are in St Werburgh's, and a stained-glass window went to the E end of St Michan's. The site is now occupied by a Mission Hall.
Henry Grattan was baptized in this church, and across the street, where Messrs Kennan's premises now are, the first performance of The Messiah was given in 1743.
ST KEVIN (OLD), LOWER KEVIN STREET.
THIS parish is of very ancient, and presumably of native Irish, origin. At the foundation of St Patrick's as a cathedral, the parish of St Kevin was made part of the endowment. During mediaeval times it was very closely connected with St Peter's (q.v.). In 1582 it was re-roofed, and is reported as again ruinous half-way through the following century. But the present building occupies the same site, and cannot have been built in its present form later than 1780. From 1700 onwards it was united to St Peter's. Even after the building of new St Kevin's on the South Circular Road in 1893, it remained in use, but was finally unroofed about 1920. Old guide-books frequently liken it to a village church. It had no galleries.
It is reached through the caretaker's house, No. 4 Liberty Lane. It stands in an extensive churchyard, and is T-shaped in plan, with a large N transept and a small bell-cote on the W gable. There are Venetian windows to E and N.
It seems likely that prior to disuse the interior was arranged so that the altar occupied the middle of the S side, the transept becoming the virtual nave, and the old nave virtual transepts.
In the churchyard, which still retains fine gate-piers to N and S, there are monuments to the parents of Thomas Moore, to Father John Austin, S.J., and to John Keogh (died 1817) a famous champion of Catholic Emancipation. Certain members of the Leeson family are also buried here.
The entrance is most easily reached by way of Camden Row, a turning west off Camden Street.
ST LUKE, THE COOMBE.
SEE St Nicholas Without.
ST MARIE DEL DAM, CORK HILL.
THIS parish was of ancient foundation. The church was approximately on the site of the present City Hall; and the parish consisted of the Castle and little more besides. In the reign of Henry VIII it was united to St Werburgh's. Towards the end of the XVIth century the church came into the possession of Richard Boyle, the great Earl of Cork, who erected a private mansion on the site. Cork House became a Government building, and was ultimately replaced by the Royal Exchange, now the City Hall.
One monument, reputedly from St Marie del Dam, is still to be seen in St Werburgh's (q.v.). There is a tradition that the crown with which Lambert Simnel was crowned in 1487, was taken from an image of the Virgin in the church of St Marie del Dam.
The "dam" seems to have been a mill-dam, and to have given its name also to Dame Street.
ST MARK, PEARSE STREET, (Formerly Great Brunswick Street).
THE parish was created in 1708 from part of St Andrew's. Building began in 1729, assisted until 1757 by many parliamentary grants. The tower, as so often in Dublin, was never completed. Externally the church has a somewhat dismal appearance, and even the main W front to Mark Street is not very striking. In 1892 an open-air pulpit was erected at the SE corner, but this has since disappeared. Internally it is rather gloomy. It has a flat ceiling and a gallery supported by corinthian columns with gilt capitals. To W an upper gallery with balustrade is supported on work evidently of later date. The box-pews (without doors) are still in situ. The bell, hung in the stump of the tower, is XVIII century, and reputed of a fine tone.
Access may be gained by application to the sexton at the Protestant Schools, 7 Westland Row, near the church.
ST MARY, MARY STREET.
THIS parish was created from part of St Michan's in 1697, and the church built then or very soon afterwards. Externally it has a gloomy appearance, and suffers from the lack of the intended tower. But there is some fine carving round the large E window, the W door is dignified, and the quasi-Jacobean window-tracery (with which compare St Anne's) is visible from outside. The large churchyard (now used as a playground) extends to S; note tombstones removed to far end. A fountain stood formerly in Mary Street, removed in early XIXth century.
The interior is of taller proportions than most comparable churches in Dublin. The box-pews are intact with doors, and so are three pews on each side formed by enclosing the window embrasures, an unusual feature. Note also two large pews formed in the thickness of the W wall, the southern of these labelled "Church Wardens". The gallery is continuous, supported on octagonal wooden columns. These in turn support fluted ionic pilasters, on which rests the plaster vault over the central space, aisles and galleries being flat-ceiled.
The body of the church curves inwards towards the sanctuary, and this curve is repeated in the galleries. At the junction of the nave and sanctuary are two giant pilasters supporting the arch. The transition is gracefully managed, yielding only to the treatment at St Werburgh's. In the plaster vaulting of the sanctuary is the name of God in Hebrew, apparently of early date. The main plaster vault presents some puzzling features: the style is indeterminate and may be the result of piecemeal renewal at various times. Rich cornices, etc., are in carved wood throughout.
The most remarkable part of this very interesting church is undoubtedly the W end. The large choir-gallery is complete with music-stands, but the finest feature is the superb organ-case. The pipe-clusters spring from brackets formed of cherubs' heads, and at this level a continuous frieze of high-relief carving runs almost the whole breadth of the building. Above the six supporting pilasters are carved panels, of which two contain decapitated female figures, one a decapitated male figure in costume not later than Queen Anne, one a globe, and two are now blank. The occurrence of figure sculpture in a church of this date is itself sufficiently remarkable. Still more so is the use of contemporary costume. It is evident that at some period this unique feature has been deliberately defaced, even to the complete removal of two of the panels.
On either side of the organ is a balustraded gallery, difficult of access and evidently not intended for use. The organ itself is crowned with large and richly carved newels. Behind it, in the tower room, the blower's station and old bellows can still be seen. The present organ is an ugly modern instrument in the N gallery. Unfortunately the old organ has suffered from repeated application of coats of dark and treacly paint, which has collected in globules over the carved surfaces.
The communion-rail is XVIIIth century work, and also the very fine pulpit with curved staircase bearing graceful wrought-iron balustrades. The two reading-desks nearby are apparently of the early XIXth century, to judge by their easy combination of classic and gothic forms. They were, perhaps designed by Francis Johnston. In the NE corner is a large iron-bound chest.
The church, though rather dark from the tone of the old woodwork, is free from stained glass, save for the inevitable E window. The church plate is of Irish silver, mostly of the XVIIIth century, and includes two plain but beautiful flagons.
The Volunteer Earl of Charlemont was baptized in this church in 1728, and Theobald Wolfe Tone in 1763. John Wesley preached first in Ireland in this church in 1747, as a recent tablet records. The other monuments are mostly handsome, and some are interesting, though not deserving of particular notice. The Ormonde family have a vault beneath the church. In 1941 the funeral service of the poet F. R. Higgins, who died in Jervis Street Hospital, was held in this church.
The sexton lives at 37 Little Denmark Street (Fortick's Asylum) and may often be found in the churchyard between 2.30 and 3.30 in the afternoon.
ST MATTHIAS, HATCH STREET.
THE parish was created from part of St Peter's, and the church built in 1843. The architect was Daniel Robertson, whose drawings of the church are in the National Library. It faces N and S, the chancel being at the S end. The chancel, probably the transepts, and the S front to Adelaide Road are later work. At present the parish is united with St Audoen's and St Peter's. The entrance front to the lawn on Hatch Street is a tetrastyle portico of Greek Corinthian without fluting, the effect of which is spoiled by the fact that the capitals are encased in wire netting.
The church is interesting as a very late example of a galleried interior, carried on thin cast-iron columns with rather mean capitals and a liberal use of consoles of overlarge scale. The church has lost its box-pews in the ground floor, but retains them in the gallery. The gallery extends northwards in the centre over the portico, and to the S it curves outwards into the transepts. Note the small ox-eye windows in the upper part of the gallery, and the circular plaques with swags over the chancel-arch.
The chancel itself is barrel-vaulted in the high Italian renaissance manner, but the ceilings of the choir-aisle appear contemporary with the first erection. The pulpit is rather a fine piece of late-Victorian wood-carving in the renaissance style. There are three or four monuments of no particular note.
The church is open daily, entrance from Adelaide Road.
ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS, HIGH STREET.
THIS church (referred to by Gilbert in his History of Dublin as "St Michael the Archangel") was founded in the XIth century and made parochial early in the XVth. It was connected with the Guild of Shoemakers, as St John's (q.v.) was with that of the Tailors. For a great many years it remained, like other Dublin churches, in a ruinous condition, and the Chapel of St Mary in Christchurch Cathedral (on the site of the present Music School) was used as the parish church. In 1676 it was rebuilt adjoining the remains of the mediaeval tower. It was again rebuilt in 1815, this time on a smaller scale, the architect being J. Taylor. At this time it measured 60 ft. x 25 ft. internally. It was a Gothic building, and the W end is visible in an old print of Christchurch of about 1830. Pinnacles were added to the tower.
The church was reported by the Royal Commission of 1868 as still in use. But following the restoration of Christchurch in 1870-78, it was demolished and its place taken by the present Synod Hall. The tower, which still remains embodied in the Synod Hall, seems to be mainly XVIIth century work, on the mediaeval foundations. An engraving of the XVIIth century church appears on the parish plate, now at St Mary's, Donnybrook. The parish was little larger than that of St Nicholas Within (q.v.). Edward Ledwich, the antiquary, was rector during the XVIIIth century.
ST MICHAEL-LE-POLE, SHIP STREET.
ST MICHAEL'S "de palude" (of the pool or marsh) was one of the most ancient parishes in Dublin, possibly more ancient than any of those which lay within the walls. The church having a Round Tower, must have been a Celtic foundation. The last mention of the parish as a separate entity occurs in 1634. In 1682 St Michael-le-Pole's and St Stephen's were formally united with St Bride's, during the incumbency of Nathaniel Foy, afterwards Bishop of Waterford. In 1706 the "disused and ruinous" church was granted to Dr John Jones for use as a Latin school. Dr Jones was at the same time ordered to preserve the Round Tower. This feature, which was originally 90 feet high, was repaired by the Dean and Chapter of St Patrick's in 1738. But it was damaged in a storm ini 775, and pulled down in 1781. It was the only recorded Round Tower in Dublin. The adjoining building, which together with the tower was illustrated by Gabriel Beranger in 1751, 1761 (illustration given) and 1775, was substantially new-built in 1706, and continued as a school till 1787. Among the masters was the poet and friend of Swift, William Dunkin, who later became headmaster of Portora. In 1787 the building became St Bride's Almhouse. It was apparently not rebuilt till after 1884. The site is now occupied by a red-brick building of 1900 which was until recently St Bride's Protestant National Schools. Until 1944 the churchyard still existed as the school playground, with tombstones standing round the walls. In that year, however, it was taken over as a timber-stores by Messrs Dockrells, and the school closed.
The approach from Great Ship Street is still partly open, marked by a tablet over the street-entry. As this tablet is now totally illegible from ground-level, we transcribe it as given in Carroll's Clergy of St. Bride's, Etc.:--
ENTRANCE TO S. MICHAEL'S LE POLE CHURCH YARD
Here anciently stood the Church and the Round Tower-- adjacent lay the Mill Pond or 'Pool', which gave name to these buildings and to the old city gate in Bride Street.
S. BRIDE'S WIDOWS' ALMS HOUSE
Founded in Bride-street and Bull Alley A.D. 1683, in succession to an older Widows' House in Bride Street -- opened here in 1766.
S. BRIDE'S SCHOOL TEACHER'S RESIDENCE
School established in Golden Lane and Arthur's Lane about 1700 A.D. -- moved to Little Ship Street 1746 -- hither 1796 -- to Bride Street 1839.
Here, in the above-named church when re-built, was the famed Latin School of the last century, in which HENRY GRATTAN and JOHN FITZGIBBON, EARL OF CLARE, were educated together.
Marble Works, W.G.C.
Mount Jerome, 1883.
ST MICHAN, CHURCH STREET.
THE parish of St Michan's was for six hundred years the only city parish on the N side of the river. It corresponded to the Danish settlement of Oxmantown. The church was dedicated on May 14th, 1095, to St Michan, a martyr and confessor and a Dublin man, by the Ostmen.
The church was rebuilt in 1685-6 by Dr John Pooley, then rector and subsequently bishop of Raphoe and of Cloyne. The tower, though mediaeval in superficial appearance, seems to date from this time, but it is possible, indeed probable, that the foundations are mediaeval. A stone stair in the NE angle turret leads to the top. The body of the church is in the plain galleried manner, with quasi-transepts to N and S. That to N was formerly more extensive, and stretched back over where the staircase is now. That to S occupies the site of the aisle of the mediaeval church. The aisle was dedicated to St Syth. In a niche may still be seen an effigy of a mediaeval bishop. (See the paper by Dean Lawlor in the JRSAI for June 1926, which establishes a probable identification of this bishop.)
The famous vaults probably date from the 1683-6 building. They and their contents are so well known that they need not be further mentioned here. In the exterior of the church the main features of note are the tower, with its fine classical W doorway, and two windows in the N wall, somewhat reminiscent of the large windows in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, of the same date. Opposite the N wall are some widows' houses, still in use.
The most beautiful internal feature is the fine woodcarving on the front of the organ gallery. A smaller variant of this is repeated on the return sides of the organ itself. The organ is a fine instrument of the early eighteenth century.
Near the SE corner is an XVIIIth century Stool of Repentance, the only one preserved in Dublin. The communion-rail is noteworthy, and also the pulpit, which was formerly moveable, and still has a handle concealed when not in use. The reading-desk is of the same Francis Johnston type (early XIXth century) as those in St George's and St Mary's. On each side of the altar are boards bearing the Ten Commandments. The pilastered screens now in the tower-lobby show some sign of having been moved and altered in the process. A little to the right of the organ (when facing E) is the parish beadle's seat in the gallery. Below the gallery are deeply recessed pews on either side of the W door, for the churchwardens and the judges from the Four Courts. Services are still held here at the opening of Law terms.
Edmund Burke (born at 12 Arran Quay in 1729) was baptized in this church. Edward Ledwich the antiquary was rector, 1761-81. The brothers Sheares were buried in the vaults in 1 798, and Oliver Bond in the churchyard, where is also the grave of Charles Lucas, the physician and patriot, who died in 1771. A reputed grave of Robert Emmet (not the only such grave) is also sometimes shown.
The church was re-roofed and extensively repaired in 1828, at which time the old chancel, which presumably extended to the present street-line, was removed. From this time also probably date the cast-iron gallery-columns.
Among the church plate (not normally visible) is a cup of 1676 Irish silver on a stem of 1516, a copper-gilt chalice, repousse and chased, of early XVIIth century Spanish origin, presented to the church in 1704. There is also a silver alms dish of 1724, chased and repoussé with a design similar to that on the organ, and another alms dish of 1676 pewter.
The sexton's house is at the churchyard gate, and owing to the attractions of the vaults there are regular conducted tours.
ST NICHOLAS WITHIN, NICHOLAS STREET.
THE parish dates from about a century before the Anglo-Norman Invasion, and the first church was built then. It was restored in 1578, and entirely rebuilt in 1707, as the date on the keystones still attests. The description in Sir John Gilbert's History of Dublin does not altogether tally with the print of 1786 which we give. It seems (if the print be reliable) to have had a semi-Gothic tower over the classic front. It had a gallery at the W end only. In 1835, being ruinous, it was unroofed. At present the ground storey still stands, with five blocked-up windows to N, overlooking the tiny graveyard. There were probably six before the W front was moved back to allow the widening of the street in 1911. There are vaults under the church, but the graveyard has been much encroached upon, especially by the rebuilding of the now demolished Tholsel in 1683. The overall dimensions of the church were about 80 ft. x 35 ft.
Owing to the nearness of so many other churches, notably St Michael's, the parish was the smallest in Dublin, only a little over five acres. It is now difficult to gain access to the church, and there is little to be seen inside; but the outwardly visible part is by no means devoid of interest.
During the XIXth century a once-famous controversy raged round the person of the then Chaplain of St Nicholas Within, the Rev. Tresham Dames Gregg. Isaac Butt was counsel for Gregg in the Court of Queen's Bench. At this time the now demolished "Verger's House" was used for Divine Service. The parish was united with St Audoen's in 1867, by order of the Privy Council.
ST NICHOLAS WITHOUT AND ST LUKE, THE COOMBE.
THE parish of St Nicholas Without, a long narrow strip between New Street and the Poddle, is of great antiquity, and the first church stood near Limerick Alley (between Patrick Street and Francis Street). But for a long time the North Transept of St Patrick's Cathedral was in use as the parish church. The transept was ruinous from 1784 till 1825, in which year it was re-roofed. In 1861 it was re-united to St Luke (which had been formed from part of it), and both parishes now occupy the same church.
The parish of St Luke was formed by Act of Parliament in 1708, and the church built. Those of the Huguenot weavers who conformed to the episcopal church were already accommodated in the Lady Chapel of St Patrick's, but the new parish church was needed as an overflow from this. It stands back from the Coombe at the head of a pleasant tree-planted avenue, almost opposite the old Weaver's Hall. It was re-roofed in 1835, re-opened after extensive repairs in 1884 (when the galleries were removed), and was remodelled at the E end in 1907, in the classic manner.
The present N porch is not original, but traces of the old entrance can still be seen. Internally, the most noteworthy feature is the W end. Some handsome old stairs lead to the gallery, in which is the organ, with good gilt cherubs' heads. At the SE corner is the vestry, a panelled room which dates from the first building. It contains a chest, of perhaps the latter part of the XVIth century, and a set of fine chairs of circa William III.
At the Coombe entrance some almshouses for widows are still to be seen. In the first of these lives the caretaker, who will open the church at reasonable times.
ST OLAF, otherwise ST TULLOCH, FISHAMBLE STREET.
THE dedication of this church fixes its origin at some point later than the year 1030. It was possibly Danish in origin, as St Olaf or Olave was a Norseman. Three churches in London bore this dedication, and also the well-known "St Doulough's" near Malahide, and the surviving church of St Olave in Waterford. The church stood near the river end of Fishamble Street, which at that point was called St Tulloch's Lane. It was dissolved and suppressed in the reign of Henry VIII, and before 1587 was united to St John's. The church was converted to secular uses, and disappeared some time during the XVIIth century.
ST PAUL, NORTH KING STREET.
THIS parish like St Mary's, was created from part of St Michan's in 1697. The first church was a galleried structure, which had become ruinous by 1821. On Easter Sunday of that year the last service took place. The re-building was completed in 1824. It is now a Gothic church with a slender tower over the sanctuary to E, and suffers internally from being too wide in proportion to its length. From the position of some monuments, it appears as though the gallery, which now survives only to W, formerly extended round three sides. The sanctuary is of modern creation. A framed painting on canvas of the royal arms, which hangs here, is evidently a relic of the old church. So is a tablet against the S wall which commemorates Lieut.-Colonel Lyde Brown, of the "Royal North British Fuzileers, who was barbarously murdered by an armed banditti in this city" in 1803. The other monuments are of no particular note. There is some good plate of the early XVIIIth century and later.
The passage running to W of the church, by which entrance may be gained on week days (the sexton lives adjoining), seems to be of earlier date than the present church.
In this church, in May 1734, George Berkeley was consecrated Bishop of Cloyne.
ST PETER, AUNGIER STREET.
THE parish dates from about the time of the Anglo-Norman Invasion. The first church stood N of the present site, near old St Stephen's in Stephen Street. It was rebuilt on the present site in 1680. As it stood before the Victorian rebuilding, it was a T-shaped building with a N transept and galleries, similar to old St Kevin's but undistinguished save for its size. From 1863 till 1867 it was rebuilt in the Gothic manner, the old walls of the nave being retained but refaced. It is now even larger, but quite undistinguished. The architect was the father of Lord Carson.
The plate in the vestry includes an inscribed chalice of 1699, and a flagon presented by the philanthropic Lady Anne Hume of 1700. Against the W wall is the monument of Lord Clonmell ("Copper-faced-Jack") of 1798. There are two good XVIIIth century mural tablets in the N transept, deeply recessed pews on either side of the \V door, for the churchwardens and the judges from the Four Courts. Services are still held here at the opening of Law terms.
Edmund Burke (born at 12 Arran Quay in 1729) was baptized in this church. Edward Ledwich the antiquary was rector, 1761-81. The brothers Sheares were buried in the vaults in 1798, and Oliver Bond in the churchyard, where is also the grave of Charles Lucas, the physician and patriot, who died in 1771. A reputed grave of Robert Emmet (not the only such grave) is also sometimes shown.
The church was re-roofed and extensively repaired in 1828, at which time the old chancel, which presumably extended to the present street-line, was removed. From this time also probably date the cast-iron gallery-columns.
Among the church plate (not normally visible) is a cup of 1676 Irish silver on a stem of 1516, a copper-gilt chalice, repoussé and chased, of early XVIIth century Spanish origin, presented to the church in 1704. There is also a silver alms dish of 1724, chased and repoussé with a design similar to that on the organ, and another alms dish of 1676 pewter.
The sexton's house is at the churchyard gate, and owing to the attractions of the vaults there are regular conducted tours.
ST NICHOLAS WITHIN, NICHOLAS STREET.
THE parish dates from about a century before the Anglo-Norman Invasion, and the first church was built then. It wTas restored in 1578, and entirely rebuilt in 1707, as the date on the keystones still attests. The description in Sir John Gilbert's History of Dublin does not altogether tally with the print of 1786 which we give. It seems (if the print be reliable) to have had a semi-Gothic tower over the classic front. It had a gallery at the W end only. In 1835, being ruinous, it was unroofed. At present the ground storey still stands, with five blocked-up windows to N, overlooking the from the evidence of maps to be of later erection, but shows no external sign of this.
The interior is somewhat disappointing. It is galleried on three sides, with "Tower of the Winds" acanthus capitals similar to those on the lower storey of the tower. Capitals of a type closely resembling these, support the gallery in St George's Church, Belfast, and those in the Magdalen Church (see Appendix below) are also similar. There is a flat timber ceiling, and the box-pews have gone. The chancel, which (as in St George's) occupies the site of former vestries, etc., is elaborately decorated with painted angels, arcading, etc., and belongs more with the late-Victorian "renaissance" choir stalls and pulpit than with the rest of the church. On either side of the chancel arch are two monuments by Kirk, of 1839 and 1845, to Richard Jones Sankey and Lady Mary Coote. The organ is of four manuals, and incorporates part of the old organ of the Rotunda Chapel.
The church is not normally open but the sexton may be found in the School House, Northumberland Road, near Lower Mount Street Bridge.
ST THOMAS, MARLBOROUGH STREET.
THE parish was separated from St Mary's in 1749, and the church built from designs by John Smith (architect of St Catherine's) between 1758 and 1762. The exterior is clearly modelled on Palladio's Redentore at Venice, with the addition of wings forming the churchyard wall. It was entered from the E, and the altar was at the W end. It was a large church, measuring 130 ft. x 65 ft. externally, with 160 ft. frontage. The centre pediment was never completed but existed in a simple and featureless form. Henry Aaron Baker designed a steeple to hide the roof, but it was never carried out. Internally it was wide, with a gallery on Corinthian columns and a flat ceiling. The woodwork on the front of the galleries seems to have been good, and the stucco in the chancel was admired.
This church suffered in the fighting in 1922, and the opportunity was taken to re-plan the street. A new street was driven through from O'Connell Street to continue Gloucester Street. Cregg's Lane (now called Findlater Place) remained; and on the island site thus created, the new church was built. The present S wall is approximately on the line of the N wall of the former church.
The new church designed by Frederick Hicks, was reopened in 1931-2. It is of brick inside and out, basilican in plan, with aisle arcades of seven bays, a short choir, and a half-dome over the apse. It is roofed with Italian tiles, and has a campanile to SE, and an arcaded narthex to W. Internally the woodwork and tiles are admirably restrained, and there is a limited amount of good modern stained glass. The apse is lined with more or less Byzantine mosaics, and the carved capitals of the columns are also Byzantine in feeling. If any criticism may be made, it is perhaps that the choice of yellow and white marbles for pulpit and communion-rails is not altogether in character. Otherwise the church is a very refreshing example of carefully thought-out harmony. It contrives to be modern and still to carry on the best traditions of Dublin church building. Much as we regret old St Thomas's, we feel that the present church is a worthy successor, as well as being unique in the City area.
A few monuments from the old church are preserved in the NW corner. In the vaults of the old church were buried many Dublin families, including the Gardiners, Viscounts Mountjoy and Earl of Blessington.(See under St George, Hardwicke Place.) Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy, was killed in 1798 at the Battle of New Ross, and was responsible for laying out Mountjoy Square and other fine building-schemes on the N side.
The church is normally kept locked, but the sexton lives at 25 Lower Rutland Street.
ST TULLOCH, FISHAMBLE STREET.
SEE St Olaf.
ST WERBURGH, WERBURGH STREET.
IN Celtic and Danish times this parish was dedicated to St Martin of Tours, and the church stood a little S of the present site. The first English church of St Werburgh was erected near the end of the XIIth century. The remains of St Martin's church are said to have been still visible in 1529.
In the XVIth and even the XVIIth centuries St Werburgh's had chapels of St Martin, Our Lady and St Catherine. At the Reformation the parish of St Marie del Dam was annexed to that of St Werburgh by Archbishop Browne. More recently, those of St John and St Bride, were also added.
The church was enlarged in 1662, acquiring at that time a square tower at the E end. In 1715-1719 it was rebuilt to the designs, it is said, of Colonel Thomas Burgh, architect of Trinity College Library. The facade to Werburgh Street (or what remains of it) dates from this time. In 1729 an octagonal W tower was added, and in 1731 a wooden dome and cross, by the munificence of Drs Synge and Delany. Some idea of the church as it appeared at this time may be gained from the print in Brooking's map, 1728. Six bells were acquired in 1748, since dispersed.
On November 9th, 1754, a fire destroyed the roof, dome, organ, pews and galleries, and burst forth afresh on November 12th. The church as we have it now is largely the fruit of the rebuilding. The architect is unknown, but Thomas Turney was the plasterer, Andrew Goodwin did the oak woodwork, and Michael Maguire the stucco in the chancel. The church was reopened in 1759, and in 1768 the tower and spire, of 160 ft., was added.
The tower and spire of St Werburgh's constitute one of the most lamentable losses we have to record. As our illustration shows, it was a graceful and original feature. In 1810 seven architects swore against the safety of the spire. A spire had recently fallen in Liverpool, but a more potent cause of its removal was the fears entertained by the Castle authorities after the Emmet rising of 1803. Although Francis Johnston offered to make it secure, it was taken down. The square storey of the tower was taken down in 1836, and the bells unhung. In 1855 four of the latter were distributed to St Mary's, the "Black Church," Castleknock and Clonsilla.
The present W facade has a truncated appearance, but what remains is all original work of 1719. Note the skulls, cross-bones,hourglasses and wings on the frieze. The interior is the most dignified and gracious in Dublin. A "remodelling" of the box pews in 1877 extended, it would seem, only to the removal of the doors. The church is kept in excellent order, and the picking-out in paint of the black-and-white tiles has an admirable effect. The junction of the galleries with the sanctuary is especially graceful. The absence of stained glass except in the E window is fortunate. A simple segmental vault extends the whole width, and continues as the narrower vault over the sanctuary. The stucco in the latter is reminiscent of the work in the Chapel of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, and overhangs the window-arch in the baroque manner. Tall floriated urns stand on top of the cornice. Note especially the handsome gilt plaster on N and S walls, the woodwork in channeled ashlar blocks below, and the altar-piece with fine wood-carving, gilt glory and dove, and panels bearing Ten Commandments and other texts, also very fine wrought-iron communion-rails.
The gallery is carried on doric pilasters. At the W end is the Viceregal pew, distinguished by a fine royal arms in high relief (1767), flanked by good carved panels. Two crowns stand on brass posts on either side. The church is the parish church of the Castle. Above and behind is the organ, purchased from Henry Miller of College Green in 1767, a very handsome instrument, the case probably designed by John Smith, who inserted the upper gallery for school children, which extends on either side of it, resting on fine fluted ionic pilasters. The organ carries a crown as centre-piece, and on either side a mitre resting on a Bible. There are delicate gilt carved trophies also round the organ-case.
The "gothick" windows in the W partition suggest that the lobby was formed about 1820 by cutting off a portion of the space under the gallery. In it there hangs a table of Parish Fees (1728) which evidently survived the fire of 1754, a map of St John's Parish (1826), an elevation as given in our illustration, and a suggested completion of the facade (1890) by Stirling. We do not recommend its adoption.
In the central lobby to W are kept two old city fire-engines, which remind us that in former days the parish was reproved by the Corporation for inadequate fire precautions. In the N staircase-lobby are some monuments from St John's, Fishamble Street (q.v.), and in the S, some from St Bride's (q.v.), notably two which concern the philanthropist Thomas Pleasants, of the Stove Tenter House and Pleasants' Asylum. Here also is the recumbent altar-tomb of the 6th or 7th Earl of Kildare. It was originally in either the Monastery of All Hallows (Trinity College) or the church of St Marie del Dam. Until 1663 it remained in a pew in St Werburgh's, and in 1715 it was rebuilt into the S wall, whence it was rescued in 1914, and assumed its present position.
The monuments in the body of the church are nearly all inoffensive, and many are elegant. In the N aisle is one to a negro boy, protege of the Earl of Mulgrave (1838), and in the S gallery are two to the wives of Arthur and Benjamin Guinness (1817 and 1819). In the centre aisle was placed in February 1946 the bell of St Bride's, which bears the name of Napper Tandy as churchwarden. On N and S aisle walls are large benefaction boards.
There are 27 vaults beneath the church, of which the most notable occupants are Sir James Ware, the historian, and Lord Edward Fitzgerald, whose captor. Major Sirr, rests in the churchyard.
The pulpit, a very fine piece of Francis Johnston Gothic, carved by Stewart, was brought here from St John's, Fish-amble Street, in 1877. It came originally from the Chapel Royal. The present lectern embodies the shaft of the older St Werburgh's pulpit.
In the vestry hangs a map of St Bride's parish, and one of the united parishes of St Werburgh's, St John's and St Bride's. There are also framed lists of churchwardens, etc., and many miscellaneous documents are preserved here. Much of the St Werburgh's plate has been deposited with the R.C.B.; a St Werburgh's almsdish of 1683, two large inscribed St John's flagons of 1717 and 1 720, two St John's chalices of pre-Reformation pattern, and two patens of Irish silver, are still at St Werburgh's.