St John's Church of Ireland STROKESTOWN

Bumlin (Roscommon)

Strokestown is one of the first Church of Ireland parishes to have all its principal historical records transcribed and available online. Together, these offer a rich resource to local and family historians, with an abundance of records of individuals.

 

18th CENTURY OLD CHURCH

In 1751 Thomas Mahon M.P. of Strokestown House conveyed to the Bishop of Elphin an acre of land in Strokestown, for the purpose of erecting a new church, as the ancient church of Bumlin was declared to be: ‘in a decayed and ruinous condition and the site thereof inconvenient’ to the new planned town which he was developing.

In March 1754, the new church was confirmed as the parish church (in place of Bumlin) and gave its name to the newly planned street on which it stood.

In 1811, the Revd Edward Mahon (1776/7–1847) was appointed as vicar and in 1813 the Vestry sought a loan of £1,000 from the Board of First Fruits to add a tower and steeple. 

In the winter of 1818/19, this church was destroyed by a storm, before the tower and steeple been built.

 

19th CENTURY NEW CHURCH

The present church was built in 1820 with a loan of £2,700 from the Board of First Fruits. The architect was John Lynn, who also worked on Rockingham House and Strokestown House.  This fine Gothic Revival church, with octagonal nave, was unusual for its time. 

On 27 August 1820, the new church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was consecrated. Its position, paralleling the gates of Strokestown, was designed to terminate the vista of Bawn Street.

The registers of baptisms, marriages and burials were kept up from 1811 until the church and churchyard closed (although there are gaps for some years up to 1847).

In 1977, the church ceased as a place of worship.

 

20th CENTURY HERITAGE CENTRE

In 1982, the building re–opened as a heritage centre. It is now home to the County Roscommon Heritage and Genealogy Centre, and both it and the churchyard are very well maintained.

 

GRAVEYARD HEADSTONES

The graveyard contains various stone grave markers and mausolea, the arliest grave marker dating back to 1766.

 

THE ANGLICAN RECORD PROJECT

The registers and memorial inscriptions have been transcribed and edited as part of the Anglican Record Project, a long–running series of mainly Church of Ireland parish record transcriptions, available on the RCB Library website.

 

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