The gardens of Heywood, County Laois have been mentioned here more than once (see To Smooth the Lawn, To Decorate the Dale, May 12th 2014 and Happily Disposed in the Most Elegant Taste, August 27th 2018). Close by in the village of Ballinakill stands an early 19th century church associated with the families who lived at Heywood. All Saints was built in 1821 – most likely on the site of an earlier building – for the sum of £1,558, thanks to assistance from the Board of First Fruits. When Samuel Lewis visted Ballinakill in 1837 he wrote ‘The parish church, situated in the town, is a handsome edifice with a tower and spire; the east window, which is of stained glass and very handsome, was purchased on the Continent and presented by the late Francis Trench, Esq.’ More likely it was Michael Frederick Trench of Heywood who had acquired the glass, of which more below. He was succeeded by his son Major-General Sir Frederick William Trench who died in 1859. Having no direct male heir, the estate then passed to his nephew, Sir Charles Domville (eldest surviving son of the wonderfully named Sir Compton Pocklington Domville, who had married Trench’s sister Helena). In turn Sir Charles’ niece Mary Adelaide Domville would marry Lt.-Col. Sir William Hutchison-Poë, who at the start of the last century commissioned Lutyens to design the gardens at Heywood.
Much of the interior of All Saints, Ballinakill dates from the second half of the 19th century when the church was enlarged and redecorated by the Domvilles. According to the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette of March 1868, the building was then restored and beautified ‘chiefly through the bounty of W. Domville Esq., of Ballinakill’ with the installation of new pews, pulpit and reading desk, as well as the gift of an organ, carved stone font, ‘velvet uphostery, pew furniture, coronas & bracket lights.’ It appears that the chancel was added to the existing structure at this time. One of the notable features of the interior is that the walls retain their original stenciled decoration, beginning in the oval entrance lobby where the domed ceiling represents the celestial sky covered in gold stars. In the main body of the church the walls are likewise stenciled or painted with improving texts, each panel of the ceiling carrying the symbol of a different saint. Damp has caused some damage to the work but, thanks to a generous grant from the Heritage Council some years ago, the condition of the church has been stabilized and no further flaking of paint seems likely.
Samuel Lewis mentioned that the church’s east window contained glass ‘purchased on the continent’. When the Domvilles added a chancel, this glass was divided between new windows on the extension’s north and south sides. The windows are of interest since they feature examples of Netherlandish glass dating from between the late 15th and late 17th century. In an article published The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , Vol. 121 (1991), William Cole examines these pieces (and those in another three Irish churches) and explains how they came to be in this country. As he notes, at least in part due to the French Revolution, ‘there was a general air of unrest in northern Europe at the end of the eighteenth century. Churches were in a bad state financially and the sale of church furnishings and glass helped to remedy this state of affairs.’ Many such items were bought by wealthy landowners in Britain and Ireland to decorate churches on or adjacent to their estates, and this would appear to have been the case at Ballinakill. Originally made in profusion for chapels, cloisters and corridors and customarily in a round or oval shape, the glass was easily transported and helped give an air of antiquity to Irish churches rebuilt or renovated thanks to the support of the Board of First Fruits. In this instance, additional glass was provided in the 1880s by the firm of Cox, Sons, Buckley and Co, which having been established in London, around this time opened a branch in Youghal, County Cork to cater for demand here. Since that time, almost nothing has changed inside the church, which – lacking electric lighting – still sees candles used during services. All Saints is a rare surviving example of a High Victorian religious interior and for that reason particularly precious.
