Holywood Parish celebrate 175th anniversary
Holywood Parish have marked the 175th anniversary of the consecration of their church building with a celebratory dinner attended by more than 160 parishioners.
The meal was punctuated by entertainment which included a potted history told in song and accounts from a cast of characters from 1844 up to the present. They included the architect, Mr (later Sir) Charles Lanyon; the rector at the time, Revd Joseph McCormick; Mrs Violet Dunville, mother of 2nd Lt. John Spencer Dunville VC to whom a memorial in the chancel is dedicated; Mr Riley, a teacher at the parish school; an (anonymous) young woman from the 40s and 50s, and from the present day, Miss Abie Taylor.
The grade B+ listed Church of St Philip and St James is made up of two buildings; the first erected in 1842 to replace the Old Priory and the remainder of the structure added in the 1860s to accommodate a growing congregation.
The church is currently undergoing repairs as part of a £300,000 refurbishment project partly funded through a £14,000 grant by the National Churches Trust.
The challenging repair work, which started in June is scheduled to finish in December.
St Philip and St James have another large project upcoming in the future, with work to repair the church’s historic organ also in the planning stage.
“The church of St Philip and St James is a jewel in the life of the parish of Holywood, but its history is made up of the stories of the people who built it and whose lives are commemorated here,” said the rector, Canon Gareth Harron.
“It is so much more than the sum of its parts – stone, brick and timber. It continues to offer a focal point for the life of the parish, a place where God’s people continue to meet to worship together and enjoy community life. We hope that the current vital work will help sustain the fabric of the building as we prayerfully hope God will bless the church, his people, into the future.”
The dinner also coincided with the parish harvest celebrations when the guest preacher was the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Designate, Archdeacon Andrew Foster. Andrew grew up in Holywood Parish and received a warm welcome at the joint service on Sunday morning.
