Rostrevor: Kilbroney
St Bronach, Kilbroney Parish Church, The Square, Rostrevor
The Kilbroney Centre, Kilbroney Road, Rostrevor
Service times:
Sunday
9am: Early Morning Service
Holy Communion: Weekly
11am
Holy Communion: 1st & 3rd Sunday
Contact us:
The Revd Sam Jones (Rector)
(028) 4173 8293
A bit about us:
The parish church of Kilbroney replaced an ancient church whose ruins are in the town but closer to Carlingford Lough. See below for a more modern photo. The old church was dedicated to Saint Bruno, the patron of the Ascetics. The original named of this place was Kilbruno. An ancient clog-ban or white bell was found around 1800 in the ivy which covered the gable of the ruins. It was of very good workmanship and was being used as an altar bell in the Catholic chapel in Newry.In the grounds of the ruined church, is an ancient inscribed cross, thought to date from the 6th century. There is another more ornate and skillfully executed cross in the graveyard with beautiful interlacing, which is reckoned to date from the 9th century.
It is mentioned in the 'Ancient and modern state of Down' in 1744 that a the new church was built to replace it. This new church was described in 1836 as a plain, rectangular building measuring 60 feet by 25 feet and in bad repair and disused by 1821.
The church was built in 1821 at a cost of £1,837 of which, £1,100 was a loan by the Board of First Fruits, £200 a gift by the same board and the remaining £537 by subscription of the congregation. A gallery was added in 1827 at an additional expense of £150, a vestry added in 1864 and a new roof in 1880. In 1836 it was described as a good building of stone with a square tower , situated in the upper part of the main street of Rostrevor. It could hold 350 people with an average attendance of 310 in summer. There is a monument in the church to Major- General Ross, the commanding officer of the 20th regiment of foot who fell 12th September 1814 in the attack on Baltimore.
THE KILBRONEY CENTRE
In the famous Fairy Glen of the Kilbroney Valley, Rostrevor, Co. Down sits the Kilbroney Centre, a residential and environmental education centre - the best kept secret in the Church of Ireland. Most folk don’t know of its existence and yet it is never without a group of people to enjoy its peace, beauty and hospitality. A green and tranquil space, the centre boasts a twelve-acre forested site with streams and ponds, ancient oaks and new sapling hazels, bouncing squirrels and cocky jays, painted lady butterflies and trundling badgers; it is the stuff of magical legends. Indeed, it was around the mountains above Rostrevor that C.S. Lewis took his inspiration for the world of Narnia
A 65 bed-residential centre set in 12 acres of beautiful forested land, with amazing views of the Mourne Mountains. We have a strong Christian ethos, but welcome all types of groups, particularly youth groups. We strive to meet the needs of all our guests and are sure they will fall in love with Kilbroney and return time after time. The centre is presently looked after by the Rector of Kilbroney, the Rev. Sam Jones and his wife Kate, and Alliance Youth Works (AYW) are contracted to run the environmental education and part-manage the centre.
Organisations in the parish:
Sunday School
Ladies' Guild