LONDONDERRY CITY CHURCHES

Samuel Lewis

1837

This diocese is one of the ten that constitute the province of Armagh: it is partly in the counties of Antrim and Donegal, but chiefly in Tyrone and Londonderry, extending 47 miles in length by 43 in breadth, and comprehending an estimated superficies of 659,000 acres, of which 2500 are in Antrim, 139,300 in Donegal, 233,100 in Tyrone, and 284,100 in Londonderry. The lands belonging to the see comprise 77,102 statute acres, of which 39,621 are profitable land, and 37,481 unprofitable; and the gross yearly revenue derived from these lands and from appropriate tithes, on an average of three years ending Dec. 31st, 1831, amounted to £14,193. 3. 9 ½. Under the Church Temporalities act an annual charge of £4160 is, from 1834, payable out of the see estates to the funds of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: this payment is made to diminish the excess of the revenue of this see above the other bishopricks, and is in lieu of the Ad Valorem tax imposed on all benefices in Ireland.

The chapter consists of a dean and archdeacon, and the three prebendaries of Comber, Aghadowy, and Moville. To the dean belong, as the corps of the deanery, the rectories of Templemore, Faughanvale, and Clondermot, the tithes of which, under the composition act, amount to £3235. 7. 11 ½. per annum. The deanery lands, which are situated in the parishes of Clondermot and Faughanvale, consist of several townlands, which comprise 2859 statute acres, let on leases at rents amounting to £176. 6. 4., and renewal fines averaging £269. 15. 7. annually; and the gross annual revenue of the deanery, as returned by the Commissioners of Ecclesiastical Enquiry, amounts to £3710. 13. 10. per annum.

To the archdeacon belongs the rectory of Dunboe, the tithes of which amount to £480, and the glebe lands comprise 420 statute acres; its gross annual value is £700 per annum. The endowments of the prebends consist of the tithes and glebes of the parishes from which they take their names, and are detailed in the articles on those places. The cathedral has neither minor canons, vicars choral, nor an economy fund. The diocesan school is connected with the free school of Derry, which was founded by the corporation of London in 1617.

The consistorial court consists of a vicar-general, surrogate, registrar, deputy-registrar, and 11 proctors. This arrangement extended to the whole of the diocese, so that the bishop, out of 47 parishes, possesses 46 estates, and this is the reason why the clergy of this diocese are generally provided with larger glebes than those of the other dioceses of Ireland. This grant included the patronage of certain churches, since disputed successfully, except those of Dungiven and Coleraine, on the grounds that the powers of the Crown, unsupported by surrender from the bishop, confirmed by an act of parliament, were not competent to make a valid grant.

The number of parishes in the diocese is 60, comprised in 57 benefices: that which forms the corps of the deanery is a union of the three parishes of Templemore, Faughanvale, and Clondermot, and is in the patronage of the Crown; 36 are in the patronage of the Bishop; 3 are in the gift of the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin; 8 in lay patronage, and the remaining 9, which are perpetual curacies, are in the patronage of the incumbents of the parishes out of which they have been formed. The number of churches is 62, and of school-houses and other places where divine service is performed, 11: the number of glebe-houses is 47.

In the R. C. divisions this diocese is a separate bishoprick, and one of eight suffragan to Armagh. It comprises 36 parochial benefices or unions, containing 70 chapels, which are served by 81 clergymen, 36 of whom, including the bishop, are parish priests, and 45 are coadjutors or curates. The parochial benefice of the bishop is Derry, or Templemore, where he resides.

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